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Peace building: A collective effort
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
August 17, 2010

ZimRights held a peace building public meeting in Mashonaland Central, at Gweshe Primary School, in Chiweshe under Sabhuku Chitiyo. About eighty people attended the meeting. This group was mostly comprised of traditional leaders and peace building committee members from the surrounding communities.

The facilitator engaged the participants in a discussion on peace and how best it can be attained and maintained. The participants agreed that peace can only prevail where there is justice, harmony, good relations, tolerance and sympathy among other things. They added that it should be nurtured from family level, peace education programs and information dissemination should be intensified. Some of the participants stressed the importance of traditional leaders in spearheading the program as they are respectable figures in the communities.

Our African culture was pointed to as one of the chief instigators of disharmony as it does not encourage people to speak out especially to the elders when they do wrong. Condemnation of bad actions is considered disrespect. Traditional leaders were, therefore, encouraged to do what they are mandated to do according to the constitution and should not be into politics.

While people requested ZimRights to return for more education programs, the people also informed the facilitator of some of the steps their society has taken in peace building. A neighbourhood watch base has been established and the community has also managed to raise enough funds to buy a bicycle for the guard on duty.

This initiative taken by the people of Gweshe shows that Zimbabweans want to live in harmony and that at community level, we can make a difference.

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