Kumasi – Ghana – 18 January 2013: Generations For Peace implemented an incredible 94 programmes and events around the world in 2012; but 2013 looks set to be even busier. To kick-off its 2013 programmes, Generations For Peace held the first Train The Trainer event in Kumasi, Ghana, bringing together twenty volunteer youth leaders from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. The participants were exposed to the unique curriculum implemented by Generations For Peace through sessions covering topics including peace building, advocacy, working with children and youth, sport and peace, and facilitation; all topics in demand as the Generations For Peace volunteers in Ghana work to build on the success of their programmes in communities. The training, which was held from 15 – 18 January, served as an opportunity to bring together and train another group of youth leaders to further cascade the mission, vision and values of Generations For Peace in target communities.
Mumuni Moro, a volunteer youth leader attending the training, found it very useful for the programmes he plans to implement in his community. “I will take what I learn at this Generations For Peace Train the Trainer and pass it on to the youth in my community,” states Moro. “The effects of problems like unemployment and drug abuse can be tackled through Generations For Peace programmes.”
The Train The Trainer event was led by certified Generations For Peace Pioneer Bernice Dapaah, whose inspirational energy has been driving programmes in Ghana since she herself was trained at a Generations For Peace Camp at the NGO’s Amman headquarters in 2008. As the training progressed, Dapaah expressed her satisfaction with the volunteer participants, stating “I am very encouraged by the level of engagement of the Delegates and the kind of understanding they have exhibited about their communities. It gives me so much hope for the future of Ghana.”
Also attending the training event was Mohammad Bin Bida, Programme Coordinator at Bright Generation Community Foundation (BGCF), a local Ghanaian NGO that is a partner of Generations For Peace on the ground in Ghana. The sessions exposed him to the training programmes provided by Generations For Peace in local communities. “This training is vital for the Delegates because it is building their capacity to address the varied problems in our communities like political violence and mischief, chieftaincy disputes and youth violence. BGCF is happy to be involved in such training not just for the Delegates, but also for our volunteers and staff as it is part of organizational capacity development.” The partnership with Generations For Peace provides the local NGO’s staff a learning opportunity to strengthen their capacity to transform conflict when dealing with diversity.
The youth volunteers will now return home and begin the process of putting together programmes to tackle local issues of conflict and violence they have identified in their target communities, and to cascade the unique Generations For Peace conflict transformation approach.
