Peace Day 2009

Elementary schoolchildren helped celebrate the International Day of Peace in Khanaqin, Iraq. Photo: Ali Yassin for Mercy Corps

In Khanaqin, Iraq, Mercy Corps and the local branch of the National Olympic Committee organised a wonderful festival for the International Day of Peace. The day involved children reading a poem and releasing white doves before a football match in Azadi Stadium.

The English club — a group of college students and members of the Global Citizen Corps programme — participated in the festival, some as organisers and others as football players.

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These girls, participants in Mercy Corps' Spaces to Grow Programme in Santander, Colombia, participate in sports activities for the International Day of Peace. Photo: Andrea Burniske/Mercy Corps

The kids from our southern Santander, Colombia alternative classrooms are rural poor: their parents work their small plots of land, too often sacrificing their kids' education for help with crops and chores. Often in this area, as in so many rural zones in Colombia, picking coca for armed groups is a higher-paying alternative to other kinds of work and agriculture.

The kids in Mercy Corps' Spaces to Grow are at high risk for becoming involved in this kind of work. The Spaces to Grow are alternative classrooms that help kids who have fallen behind at school because of working to catch up with their studies. The farther behind the kids get, the lower their self-esteem in school, and the more likely they are to leave school altogether — to do whatever offers them a living wage.

The kids in the Spaces to Grow come from very vulnerable families — families in which there is often a lot of violence toward the kids and between the adults. We really noticed this from focus groups in other cities, and were told that this is a real problem also in Santander.

Vivo Jugando is a new Mercy Corps sports-for-change strategy that uses football and yoga to work through important issues such as domestic violence and sexual exploitation to give kids tools to deal with these issues in their lives. We started using Vivo Jugando in Santander a couple of months ago. The kids are wild about it, as you can see from this video:

Here they are playing with a 'globe' ball, a donation from Mercy Corps' Scotland office to celebrate the Intenational Day of Peace. These kinds of experiences are so important for kids — so they understand ideas of peace, cooperation for a better community and feel supported and cared for by people they respect. Without these things, the people they respect are going to be people who they see as having power — the armed groups and drug traffickers.

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As part of Mercy Corps' celebration of International Peace Day, as football festival was held at the Dhooteray Ground, Darjeeling on the 21st of September, involving people from ten communities. Eight teams were formed including two comprised of children aged 12 to 16. Participants ranged from 7 to 62 years of age.

The participants were welcomed by the Dhooteray community, and the significance of the One Day One Goal campaign was explained. Teams were formed at random, mixing members from different backgrounds and assigned six colours: white, blue, red, green, yellow and orange. Inaugural match was played between mixed teams of boys and girls (age 12-16). Four matches were played between the teams comprised of Community Action Group (CAG) Members. The final pitted the white against the yellow team with the white team emerging as the winners.

Prizes were distributed by the Dhooteray High School teachers, Shankar Foundation (a Mercy Corps partner NGO comprised of People Living HIV/AIDS) and Community Action Group members, and a thank you speech by CAG members of the host community.

The Shankar Foundation participated in this event by putting up a stall and by distributing Information, education and communication materials to the participants and the spectators/school children. They educated the people and students on the causes and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Mercy Corps’ Community Health Workers from Kalej Valley and Lepcha Gaon supported the programme by putting up a First Aid Stall. Lunch for all 200 participants was prepared by CAG members of the host community.

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As part of Mercy Corps' efforts to reach conflict-affected youth in Lebanon, Mercy Corps and Najdeh Association set up a five-day football tournament in September.

The tournament included 13 teams from Nahr el Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The winning team played a friendly game on the fifth day with Al Koucheh football team (Akkar). This finale took place on the day commemorating the International Day of Peace, just one day before the Ramadan holidays. Around 80 Lebanese and Palestinians ages 18 to 30 attended the final game.

This activity is a part of the "One Day One Goal" campaign that sets up Peace Day football matches in conflict areas around the world, and was developed by the camp's youth committee to address psychosocial issues related to the youth population within the camp and with the surrounding communities.

The game's significance is in line with one of the aims of the broader project, funded by the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office, or ECHO, of reconciliation and dialogue between camp residents and the surrounding Lebanese community.

The tournament had a very positive impact on the participating youth of the camp because it allowed for the restoration of a tradition that existed before the crisis in 2007, when the camp was completely destroyed. It gave a measure of hope and assurance although slight vis-a-vis the return to normalcy in the camp.

Another very salient positive effect was that it allowed camp youth and Lebanese youth from the surrounding area to participate together in a safe and constructive activity which acts to normalize relations between Lebanese and Palestinian communities. This could be gleaned from remarks of both players and supporters.

One supporter said, "The last game was the most striking because it reawakened hope through interaction of Palestinian and Lebanese youth and revealed a sense of camaraderie and healthy competition ... and this will lead to the return of positive relations between the two communities."

One of the players alluded to the positive effect of the tournament saying that the next step would be to host Lebanese teams at the camp. Another woman added, "These activities should be regular between youth and other members from both communities since we lived all our lives as one community."

Finally, it's worth mentioning that this tournament was a starting point to recreate positive perceptions between the Lebanese and Palestinian youth with sports as an entry point — an activity that should be focused on and encouraged on a larger scale.

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More than 1,000 people attended Mercy Corps-sponsored Peace Day events in Eldoret, Kenya. Photo: Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps celebrated the International Day of Peace in Eldoret, Kenya on September 24. This date was chosen to allow participation of the Muslim community who were celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, (Id Ul Fitr) on September 21. This event was linked to LEAP sports programme organised by Mercy Corps and African Sports and Talents for Change (A-STEP).

The event was attended by Eldoret West District Commissioner Mr. Ngaluma as guest of honour, the Mayor of Eldoret town, Mr. Samwel Rono, District Officers, various heads of government departments in the district, civic councillors, church leaders, civil society representatives, chiefs, and the local business community. The key events were sports activities, a peace match, and theatre presentations. The games attracted crowds of close to 1,000 people. These games were graced by several media houses among them KBC, Royal Media, Fish FM, and Kass FM.

The games formed the major component of the celebration, with football proving particularly popular. Key happenings included:

• Sharing of the peace curriculum developed by Mercy Corps as part of the LEAP sports programme
• Football competition (female and male teams)
• Dissemination of peace messages through leaflets, brochures and posters
• Artistic performances (drama, song and music)
• Speeches by government officials, politicians, civil society representatives, community leaders, and members from the business community

The event provided the space for peace actors to meet with Mercy Corps’ sports teams and government officials, the local community, and with leaders on issues of conflict and peace. The youth noted that in every conflict in Kenya, young people suffer most and benefit least.

Here are the activities we held:

Peace March
The march was flagged off by the Soi Division District Officer Mr. Ahmed. All the LEAP SPORT teams were well represented in the march with over 138 coaches and team leaders present, including 460 youths from various teams. Other participants in the march included government officials, members from the local business community, notably the Asians, IOM, UN-OCHA, Red Cross and several local NGOs and CBOs. Many more members of the public joined the march along the way to the venue of the celebrations causing a huge traffic jam along the Eldoret-Uganda road. A-STEP theatre group took the opportunity to announce peace messages through their songs and chants. The 2km walk ended at the Huruma playgrounds, the venue of the celebration.

Demonstration of the LEAP Programme Curriculum
Immediately after the March for Peace, all the LEAP Sport participants assembled together for the discussion on how the peace curriculum is helping them rebuild relationship broken during the post election violence in the community. The discussion was led by A-STEP events officer Andrew Makhanu. Later, Huruma youth ladies and men teams gave a demonstration on the topic Managing Emotions — a key subject of the LEAP programme curriculum.

Under 25s Men and Women’s Football Tournament
Thirteen teams of under 25 year olds participated in the tournament (8 men’s and 5 ladies’ teams). With a running theme of “AMANI IDUMU KENYA-One Day One Goal” the games were played in the true spirit of building alliances across ethnicities in the sometimes turbulent district. The games began with Mr. Fetha, Eldoret District Officer kicking up the ball after addressing the players and spectators. The District Officer advised the youth to make good use of the LEAP SPORT Programme, assuring them that the government was fully behind them and would give any support needed. The matches were played in two fields with over 1,000 spectators and fans watching and cheering. Iten FC (men) and Cheptiret FC (women) were the tournament winners.

Theatre Performances
Alongside the sports activities the A-STEP theatre group was given the chance to perform its peace drama. The drama was educative and entertaining with a focus on violence, youth and peacebuilding. The first part of the play, “Let it Not Happen Again,” was a representation of the 2007 post election violence, and the play presented a strong message for peace.

The Mayor of Eldoret Municipality Mr. Rono advised the community to live peacefully and focus on development. He also encouraged the youth to participate in peace activities giving the example of the LEAP SPORT Programme. The DC, Mr. Ngaluma’s speech ended the event. In his closing remarks, he observed: “We need to stay as brothers and sisters, living together is the only solution for the development of our economy, we should not depend on political advice that have turned up dividing the communities. The society has the task to advocate for peace right from the family level. As I stand here today I want to say that Mercy Corps together with A-STEP are doing a great work of uniting youth together through sports and engaging them in profitable activities during the weekends. We should all emulate this.”

Tug of War
The tug of war game was between the youth and the elders with the elders looking determined to win right from the beginning. The activity created a lot of excitement, with applause and cheering from all over. With the DC as the mediator, the elders emerged winners, with a youth saying, that for them, “it was a tactical and strategic” loss out of their respect for the elders.

Handover of the Curriculum to the District Commissioner
Upon conclusion of all events, the peace curriculum that the coaches and captains are using in the LEAP SPORT for Change Programme, was presented to the Eldoret West District Commissioner, and to other key local peace actors. “LEAP SPORT is not just about playing, but playing for change”, said the Mercy Corps programme coordinator. After the handing over of the curriculum, all the senior team coaches and team leaders were given tracksuits to encourage them to work even harder with their teams.

The more than 1,000 persons who marched amidst placards with peace inscriptions, , handbills, and banners, with songs and drum beats, left no doubt about their determination to build a peaceful society. Led by youths affiliated to African Sports and Talents for Change (A-STEP) the various teams in the larger Uasin Gishu were mobilized for the event. Apart from great inspirational speeches given by the various stakeholders and the games and performances, the event provided the district residents with the opportunity to reflect and share ideas on how to uphold peace in their home district.

The DC was later interviewed by the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation (KBC) and various FM stations. In his speech, after giving trophies and presents to the winning teams at the celebration, the DC captured the attention of the excited but attentive crowd by quoting the enduring words of Oscar Arias Sánchez, Costa Rican President and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to define peace. He said of peace: “Even though today some of you have emerged winners in the games we played...peace is not a matter of prices or trophies...it has no finishing line...peace is a never-ending process, but the work of many decisions by many people in many countries...”

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Thirty-five players took part in a Peace One Day football tournament at the Spartans Community Football Academy in Edinburgh. Photo: Mercy Corps

Following last year’s success, Mercy Corps again participated in the One Day One Goal campaign of the organisation Peace One Day, to mark the International Day of Peace through football games that bring people together. Mercy Corps country teams in Colombia, India, Iraq, Kenya and Lebanon organised five unique events bridging local divisions. In solidarity, Mercy Corps staff in Edinburgh also organised a series of games bringing the campaign to Scotland for the first time.

On the 21st of September, the International Day of Peace was celebrated by a round robin of seven-a-side games at the Spartans Community Football Academy involving 35 players and organisers from Mercy Corps, Edinburgh University, the United Nations Association, Engineers without Borders and Challenges Worldwide.

Players were informed about the campaign to raise awareness of the International Day of Peace, and of some of the games taking place around the world. Jamie Hitchens, a Mercy Corps Climate Change volunteer, scored an impressively opportunistic goal from a goal kick but while Graeme Farmer of the MCS Finance department maintained an admirable one-goal-per-game ratio, in general the best play came from the students from Ewing House, at Edinburgh University’s Pollock Halls of Residence.

Check the blog for more accounts from Peace Day events by Mercy Corps teams around the world.

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The city of Mitrovicë/a in Kosovo is very often described by the media as a city of trouble. The most beautiful bridge in the country — with the Ibar/Ibër River flowing beneath — divides this city in half. In the northern part of the city, the majority of the population is ethnically Serb while, in the south, the majority is ethnically Albanian. The river punctuates some of the still unresolved divisions within Kosovo.

Children from the local Turkish community perform a dance with candles at the Mercy Corps-sponsored "Promotion of Cultural Values" concert in the divided town of Mitrovicë/a, Kosovo. Photo: Drin Mulliqi/Mercy Corps

However, a multi-ethnic concert brought people from different communities together to celebrate the International Day of Peace.

“I got the idea for organising this concert because I saw the lack of cooperation between communities in Mitrovicë/a," said Marigona Bekteshi, the project manager of this community initiative. "Thanks to Mercy Corps and USAID who financed this event, we have managed to bring most of the communities that live in Mitrovicë/a together to share their cultural values.”

The concert — which was titled “Promotion of Cultural Values” — featured ethnic Albanians, Turks, Bosniaks and members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community, who performed different dances, plays and songs from their traditional cultures. The concert was attended by more than four hundred people of different ethnicities.

As Mercy Corps continues to work to build confidence and links between communities in the city we hope that, before long, such events will have even broader participation and also include the ethnic Serb community.

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