The quest for peace is very essential for any human development because peace is the bedrock for any social cohesion, inclusiveness and tolerance which are needed for the wellbeing and development of any society.
Peacefulness however cannot be attained in a vacuum, it must be built on a solid foundation.
In the light of this, the Damongo Diocesan Youth Office with support from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), under the Sahel Peace Initiative (PSI) has organized a peace forum at Bole in the Savannah region on Friday April 8, 2022.
The forum which was under the theme “THE ROAD TO LASTING PEACE IN SAVANNAH REGION; LEVERAGING ON EXISTING STRUCTURES,” brought together stakeholders across the district, including Chiefs and Queen mothers, religious leaders, the police, CHRAJ, NCCE, youth groups, including Bole Youth Parliament.
In his welcome address, the assistant Diocesan Youth Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Francis Xavier Kanzong stated that in 2019, the Episcopal Conference of West Africa launched the Sahel Peace Initiative (SPI) to map out strategies on how to maintain peace in the Sahel region. He indicated that though Ghana has not experienced so much of violent conflict as a nation, but in some of her neighboring countries, violent national conflicts have led to the lost of thousands of lives and destruction of millions of property, rendering many people homeless and jobless.
Women and the youth according to Fr. Kanzong are the most affected in all the violent conflicts especially in the Sahel region.
He therefore encouraged the good people of Bole by extension Savannah region and Ghana at large to uphold peace which is an ingredient for development.
Giving an overview of the Sahel Peace Initiative (PSI), a team member from Damongo, Mr. Tieruzie Zacchaeus stated that similar peace fora were ongoing across the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province which he indicated is comprised of Damongo, Navorongo-Bolgatanga, Yendi and Wa dioceses including the Tamale arch diocese.
Mr. Tieruzie also explained that the youth office with support from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) organized a training session dubbed “RISING FROM RESILIENT ROOTS “(RRR), where some youth were trained on how to handle trauma issues through RRR at both Damongo municipality and Sawla-Tuna -Kalba district.
The youth according to Mr. Tieruzie also embarked on a COVID-19 sensitization drive at Damongo, the Savannah regional capital, where the youth joined major stakeholders in the municipality to educate the public on the need to wear nose masks and observe the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols and also get vaccinated.
On the issue of promoting peace among the youth of Damongo township and Canteen, a suburb of Damongo who have been arch rivals over the years, Mr. Tieruzie Zacchaeus stated that fun games were organized for the two communities to drive home the message of peace and social cohesion.
On her part, project manager of CRS, madam Joana Guo indicated that currently Ghana has not recorded any major national level violent conflict however, her neighboring countries which are part of the Sahel region are facing a lot of violent conflicts which has retarded development in those countries.
In the light of this, according to madam Guo the leadership of the Catholic Church saw the need to partner CRS to strategize on how to prevent these violent conflicts in the Sahel region which Ghana is part.
Other speakers at the forum included the Bole district police commander; DSP Benjamin Buxton, district director of CHRAJ; Mr. Agyei Kwadjo Kwakye, district coordinator of National Youth Authority; Mr. Samed Narh, Savannah Regional Queen Mothers Association and leader of research and documentation committee of Bole Youth Parliament; Mr. Sulemana Solomon Kponkpori.
In her closing remarks, the chairperson of the forum who is also the Queen mother of Soma, Somawurche Abudu Ewuche disclosed that in recent times there has been a high rate of crime in the Savannah region especially Bole which she lamented was due to the high rate of unemployment and school dropout among the youth who have resorted to all avenues whether by hook or by crook to earn a living.
She therefore charged the government and civil society organizations to help create employment avenues for the youth. She also admonished the police not to grant bail to criminals due to pressure from politicians and chiefs.
The climax of the peace forum was a visit to the children’s ward of the Bole district hospital where donations including toiletries and detergents, digital thermometers and sphygmomanometers, including assorted drinks were presented to the hospital.
Hassan Hamidu Boniface
bonifacebutewura@gmail.com
0243471515