At least 18 members of the Gogrial West County peace committee in Warrap State have pledged to sensitize the communities about peace in their payams.
The peace committee members attended a one-day consultative workshop on Monday organized by the state peacebuilding and conflict resolution commission with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
According to the organizers, the workshop aimed at building trust, forgiveness, cohesion, and how to report gender-based violence in Akon North, Akon West, Kuach South, Kuach North, Akon South, and Gogrial.
“Thank you for the good work you have been doing in Gogrial West county because intercommunal violence has been reduced through your efforts of reporting them to relevant authorities and what remains as the challenge is the cases of gender-based violence (GBV) but UNDP with government as our partner will arrange the training on GBV specifically to address it,” Lucia Bassa, UNDP cohesion director told the peace ambassadors.
She added that a lot of work still needs to be done this year to sensitize the communities about the importance of tolerance, forgiveness, and appreciating each other.
Santino Gong Deng, Gogrial Payam peace committee information secretary said he will deliver the message of peace despite the challenges facing them.
“Today’s consultative workshop talked about achievements and challenges when doing peace awareness in our various payams in Gogrial West county,” he said. “We have shared achievements but challenges are imminent because of lack of mobility, communication networks in some places have hindered reporting early warnings of conflict.”
Kuach West payam peace committee member, William Mayar said, “I have first changed myself when it comes to violence and today the experiences we have shared equipped me to solve issues of girls’ elopement and theft cases which are the root causes of communal conflict. Discussing things together and bringing both sides and listening to them pays a lot when addressing differences in the community.”
Meanwhile, Agany Lok Agany, the Warrap state chairperson for the conflict resolution and peacebuilding commission appreciated the UNDP for its support and urged the peace groups to continue disseminating peace among the communities.