Empowering Peace-Builders, One Paper Crane at a Time
On a hot sunny day in Limbe, in southwest Cameroon, hundreds of students watched as teachers and members from The Association for Community Awareness (ASCOA) slowly folded the corners of small pieces of paper, giving them a bird-like shape. They were taking part in the Peace Crane Project, a peacebuilding initiative that invites students worldwide to fold paper cranes, write messages of peace, and exchange them with students in another country.
Launched in 2012 as part of the United Nations International Day of Peace, the project was inspired by twelve-year-old Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who died of radiation-induced leukaemia in 1955, ten years after the atomic bomb had fallen near her home in Hiroshima. Sadako’s goal to fold 1,000 paper cranes in hopes her wishes would come true turned the act of crane folding into a symbol of peace around the world.
In Cameroon, the Peace Crane Project is one of ASCOA’s activities to promote peacebuilding and empower youths to make a difference in their communities.
“It’s in the way of harmony. We come together to fight for peace, not for war, to love each other. By coming together in one opinion, that also brings peace. So whatever happens, I’ve learnt that peace is the best way to solve those situations”, said Lydia Faith, one of the student participants.
Since 2016, Cameroon’s English-speaking northwest and southwest regions have been rocked by violence after separatist groups called for an independent state. The conflict has killed over 3,000 people and displaced 600,000. In the Anglophone areas, 800,000 children are out of school, and one in three of the four million people need aid. Another conflict involving Boko Haram insurgents in the Lake Chad basin, has killed 2,000 Cameroonians and displaced 250,000.
In a region torn by violence with no sign of abating, the peace crane project is an effective way to educate children through arts and recognise their importance as political actors willing to spread a message of peace and mutual understanding.
“It is not only the place of the government to ensure that there is peace. As individuals, we are supposed to make sure that we do the right things to ensure that our country is better and ensure that peace is in our country. We should be our brother’s keeper because, without that, we cannot seek peace”, said Mutete, one of the winners of a competition where students selected peace quotes to share at the event.
Statistics from the UN World Population Prospects estimate that 1.2 billion youths between the ages of 15-24 live around the world, and nearly one billion live in developing countries where conflict and humanitarian crises have been taking place. In Cameroon, youths constitute more than 70 per cent of the population. Given their large numbers, adults should not ignore their potential as peacebuilders. With their energy, resilience, and ability to adapt and embrace new technologies, young people could act as mediators, community mobilisers, peace educators, and humanitarian workers.
ASCOA believes that young people need training opportunities to become active peacebuilders. The organisation hopes to expand the project to as many schools as possible to complement their other peacebuilding activities, such as sensitization campaigns, visits, and workshops in schools to promote a sustainable peace culture through dialogue. But limited resources threaten their much-needed work.
More financial support for local peacebuilding is needed. Young people could improve people’s attitudes and change behaviours. They deserve greater representative participation in local peacebuilding mechanisms. As student Oben Aten said, “Peace is what we Cameroonians want … we should get these messages of peace and put them into practice”.
View Our Past Peace Initiatives Involvement
The International Peace Day 2019
World Peace Day 2019
Both Members and volunteers of ASCOA and members of surveyors and friend’s veteran club joined together in Buea Town stadium at 9am, followed by group pictures taken with the other party, a march pass with the banner and peace flowers in commemorating the international day of peace.
Peace building is one of the focuses of ASCOA in which they create awareness and educate the communities/ population on promoting peace building in the society, a world where peace reigns amongst all. Peace building is more effective at the community level where needs are
SDGs: Building Blocks for Peace 2016
World Peace/Ozone Layer Day 2014
This project was geared towards educating the community that is the youths, women and men on the need for peace in the communities and the world at large. The rate of population growth has increased pressure on natural resources leading to the increasing demand of these resources and thus conflict for its existence.
This project was geared towards educating students and other audiences on the need to protect the environment and need for peace in the communities and the world at large. In this 21st Century, the rate of population growth has constituted a deterrent to environmental protection as forests are being cleared for human settlement