NGO defuses potential conflicts in eight communities

Tamale, Aug. 8, GNA- The Social Enterprise Development (SEND) Foundation of West Africa, an international NGO, was able to avoid potential conflicts in eight communities of the Northern Volta and the eastern corridor of the Northern Region between January and August, this year.

Mr Emmanuel H. Bombande, Programme Director of West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP), an NGO, who announced this at a press briefing in Tamale on Thursday, said the conflicts were about to erupt into violence.

He said 30 animators mobilised from the communities by SEND Foundation and trained on basic conflict management by WANEP had been able to resolve the conflicts.

The animators have been trained to analyse conflict situations in their communities to be able to defuse the situations before they erupt into violence.

They were also tasked to carry out peace-building education in the communities and intervene in conflict management through mediation and dialogue.

Mr Bombande said peace building must always start from the community level. "Conflicts resolved by outsiders only bring about a temporary peace since nobody can build peace better than the people themselves".

Mr Amadu Ibrahim Zakari, Gender and Peace Development Officer of SEND Foundation said the organisation was involving the people in conflict surveillance and peace-building through the use of drama and theatre.

This he said will promote peace in the communities and also generate responses from the communities to enable the animators to strategise their plans.

Mr Samuel Zan, the Director of Ghana branch of SEND, urged the media to be proactive in their reportage on peace-building issues.