Five communities in the Kasena Nankana municipality and the Kasena Nankana west district of the Upper East Region over the weekend benefited a peace building and conflict resolution training program organised by the Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Art (SWOPA). Established in 1997, the organisation focuses on assisting rural women in basketry weaving, pottery and other craftworks in Sirigu in the Kassena Nankana West district.
Managing Director of SWOPA – Mrs. Bridget Adongo narrated that the organisation is concerned with the increasing spate of conflicts in parts of the region, hence the need to engage women in the five communities. She noted that women are usually left out when it has to do with peace building and conflict resolution and that the time has come for them to be involved as a result of their role in society. The beneficiary communities included; Kandiaga, Mirigu, Sirigu Yua and Nabango.
She lamented over how the Kandiaga and Doba impasse affected livelihood and businesses in the district “of later, certain things are not helping us in our work. when you are coming to these communities, you are thinking of how to manage your time because there is curfew. It is affecting our business. It affects lots of things, but we are not stressing on that one. It is something that is worrying us.”
The organisation is currently in partnership with the Canadian Embassy in propagating peace through artwork. The organisation is in the process of rolling out a program where ‘queens of peace’ will be installed in the various communities to work hand in hand with the traditional leaders to maintain and manage peace at the community level.
Coordinator for the Canadian Fund for local Initiatives, Dr Zachary Pealore told word news that women traditionally have a very important role to play when it comes to peace building and conflict management and as such, the program seeks to reignite the role that women, our traditional leaders, chiefs, religious leaders play towards ensuring lasting peace. He bemoaned the destruction of lives and properties following the conflict between the people of Doba and Kandiga.
He added that the project is seeking to achieve conflict-free environment that gives the free will for citizens to carry out their daily activities without challenges.
The Paramount chief of the Sirigu traditional area, Naba Atumgdeya Roland Akwara III told word news that women in the ancient days were very powerful in conflict resolution and there is therefore the need to engage them against spending huge monies on security.
Naba Roland Akwara noted that “women were very important in our conflict resolutions, when there was a conflict or war between two communities, we will have to invite “payaabga” (a woman who is not married but has grown old), then we go to a different community to invite those whose uncle-house the conflict area. They will come and follow that woman called “Payaabga” and then the woman together with her siblings will move to the conflict area and at the meeting point of the two communities, they will sprinkle ashes to signify that the women are looking for peace, so they will have to stop fighting. Their bows and arrows will be lowered and if anyone still allows his bow or arrow to cross the ashes, it means you have weakened yourself spiritually. So as soon as they see the woman coming to the zone, the communities will stop fighting”
mywordfmonline.com /Gaspard Ayuureneeya