Peace is a major component that is fundamental for the growth and development of a society. Without peace, the human race cannot exist cohesively and the world would be in a state of anarchy. Peace was the main objective in the formation of the United Nations in 1945 right after the conclusion of the Second world war in 1945. Due to the atrocities that the human race suffered during this and the first world war, many non-governmental organizations including the UN were founded with the core mandate of maintaining peace and ensuring that there will never be a third world war.
CPI Kenya together with Interactions For Peace, a USA based organization, seeks to educate the children about the importance of peace among themselves and within the society in which they live in. Children are the future generation in our society. As such, they should be taught and molded into the society that we envision for the future. CPI Kenya has embraced this concept and established the Peace Patrollers Program. This program teaches children about conflict resolution, and maintaining peace within their context and society in which they live in.
The program involves recruiting Peace Patrollers in various primary schools whereby the children are taken through lessons that instill leadership skills and peace related values. These lessons mold the characters of the children through nurturing values of tolerance, diversity, inclusivity, confidence, resilience, cooperation, respect, team work and friendship. The children are therefore able to embrace social, cultural differences and appreciate diversity as attributes of social growth and social awareness.
Once the children have completed their peace program, they become members of the peace patrol within their respective schools. The main objective of the Peace Patrollers is to ensure that peace prevails in the school environment to ensure that the children feel safe and confident to learn in a conducive atmosphere without fear of criticism and bullying. It also helps to build the children’s self-confidence so that they can pursue their educational goals without peer pressure or undue influence from others.
It is CPI Kenya’s long term goal to ensure that all schools within Kenya are enrolled in this program to ensure peace and maintain it throughout the country.
In conclusion, we reflect on Martin Luther King Jr’s words
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
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