Kadie's story: Building peace

When people returned after the war, they found there was nothing left. Fields were overgrown and houses destroyed, there were no animals and nothing to eat. On top of this, communities had no tools and seeds and didn’t know how to work together to rebuild their lives, even though past tradition was to rely on each other.

Reviving community spirit

The CAPS programme is about bringing people back together and resolving the issues that divide them. Christine Tokar, British Red Cross programme support manager, explains: “A Red Cross ‘animator’ – someone who speaks the language and is part of the culture, but is neutral because they are not from the same village – lives in the community and helps them find means to resolve disputes.

“The community is encouraged to build peace and heal relationships, as well as carry out development activities to improve quality of life. The support is not relief aid – these communities were once self-sufficient and it is about ‘animating’ them to work together again.”

In Niagorehun, this resulted in a community farm being established, with both the workload and produce being shared. Christine continues: “In many ways, Red cross animators act as healers – helping communities return to being healthy. This includes giving basic education on nutrition and explaining that clothes should be dried on a line and not on the ground, to prevent skin rashes from bug infestations. But as well as addressing physical health it’s about looking at other issues, such as how people interact with each other to build healthy relationships within the community.”

Building peace

Kadie is a member of the community committee for building peace. Traditionally only male elders would hold such positions, but Red Cross animators encourage the community to also elect women and youth who they consider to be wise and good at resolving problems. The alienation and lack of participation of male youth and women in general caused some of the problems that led to the war. Now these groups are represented and participate in community decision-making. 

Some of the causes of conflict in communities are related to suspicions that others were collaborators or they were seen carrying out atrocities during the war. Also those who didn’t flee to bush camps often went looting. When people returned home they saw their neighbours had taken their belongings.

Members of the community, like Kadie, are trained in conflict resolution and they work with the town chief in building peace. As most are illiterate the training is done visually, using a conflict tree drawn in the soil with roots as a means to discuss the roots of conflict.

Healthier community

Nearly all the communities the Red Cross works with have no access to safe water or sanitation. The bush and stream is used as their toilet, and the stream is as their source of water – a lethal combination for disease. The Red Cross trains the community in good hygiene and provides the materials for the community to build wells and latrines.

“The programme has taken us from darkness to light and has helped women a lot,” says Kadie. “After the workshops, women have not been left behind the men in making decisions for the community.

“We help solve problems, like with the new concrete floor that’s been built for drying rice. Before pebbles and dirt used to get into the rice but now it’s not a problem.

“We’ve also built a new well as previously we had to walk to the next village to get water. It’s reduced a lot of illnesses, like stomach aches, as the water we used before was not clean. The new toilet is also a big asset to the community. You don’t want to know what the situation was like before,” she says with a giggle. 

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