GNRC youth member in Uganda, Mr. Patrick Nicholas Barasa, was privileged to be one of the convenors and facilitators at a Conflict Transformation Training conducted by the Uganda Youth Interfaith Network from 27th – 30th August 2019. The workshop, which took place in Rwamwanja Refugee settlement in South-western Uganda, targeted 30 youth, selected amongst the refugees and host community. The initiative is supported by UNDP and Religions for Peace.
The project is intended to build peaceful coexistence between refugees and the community youth. The Uganda Youth Interfaith Network is the youth implementing arm of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda.
Mr. Barasa is one of the active youth that has benefited from the Regional Youth Forums on Peace building, sponsored by Arigatou International and Norwegian Church Aid. The forums bring together youth leaders and influencers (between 20 – 34 years); from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania to empower them to lead peace, justice, inclusion and social cohesion processes in their home countries. The forum’s approaches include dialogue, training, mentorship, learning and exchange visits, case studies and research. Mr. Barasa’s involvement in the training workshop in Rwamwanja camp is part of Arigatou International’s broader objective – to empower youth leaders to conduct peace initiatives in their local communities.
Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement is managed by UNHCR and the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister’s Department of Refugees (OPM) with nearly 70,000 refugees most of whom are Congolese nationals who fled the M23 rebellion and the broader Kivu conflict in early 2012.
