ISSUE X • FALL 2011
Nothing to Undo by cynthia travis
W
hat do we mean when we say we are ‘bringing the stories home’? For the past seven years, everyday gandhis has been working with traditional communities and ex-combatants in post-war Liberia. The tagline for our mission statement has morphed from, ‘Infusing the media with stories of peacebuilding, in the words of those who have experienced violence and war’ to a more complex understanding of our purpose: ‘Promoting dialogue about the nature of healing from war, through councils, films, writing and photography.’ Bringing the stories home also means re-imagining the role and structure of nonprofit organizations, starting with everyday gandhis. Except for my remarks here, all the stories in this issue were all written by young peacebuilders in Liberia and in the U.S.
of this newsletter), says, “I must take the blame and the responsibility for my actions during the war. And behind me is a line of people who share that blame and responsibility, including for what they did to me. Behind them is another line of people who share the blame and responsibility also. And behind them are others, and so on.” Similarly, in one way or another all of them (future guardians) told us, “Now we understand that when we talk about repaying your generosity in supporting us in school, it doesn’t mean that we have to earn and pay that exact amount for someone else. In fact, we may never know or see the ways our own healing has helped others. It might be seen in our children, or in their children, or in members of the community we may never know.”
This sophisticated understandAs peacebuilders we are always ing came, in part, because of our wondering, How do we know visit to the Elmina Slave Castle in that the changes we see are real Ghana in July. Learning about the continued on page 2 and lasting? How do we know horrendous history of the slave our contribution was meaningtrade helped to locate the atrociful? Often, relationships that ties of Liberia’s civil war, in which bring peace can’t be measured in these young people fought, on a terms of cause and effect or linear Mohammed Kamara, photo by Morris Kamara deep-time continuum – spanning achievement. Instead, we look for ancient times to the far future – patterns, resilience, and small, meaningful gestures that either bring of trauma and suffering, especially since Liberia was founded by freed or indicate positive change. At everyday gandhis we seek the smallest slaves, perhaps the descendents of some of the very slaves who passed possible gesture, intervention, or comment. We seek to catalyze and re- through Elmina’s Gate of No Return. This larger landscape of brutallease untapped creativity in individuals and communities. We look for ity does not exonerate or even explain what any child soldier or other relationships that are reciprocal in positive ways and that can endure victim or perpetrator of war goes through. What it does is offer simuland absorb stresses, or, better yet, ‘aikido’ those stresses into learning taneous comfort and urgency to their task as peacemakers. One by one, and strength. We listen for incremental positive changes in attitude, many of the Future Guardians told, for the first time, in public and on insights, and point of view. We look for moments of spontaneous com- film, of acts of brutality they had committed and now regretted, and passion, for honesty, for amends being made and relationships restored. of their sadness that they did not know who to apologize to or who to seek forgiveness from. An example of this happened while I was visiting Liberia last month, in a conversation about forgiveness with the Future Guardians of Peace. The Future Guardians of Peace spend a great deal of time contemLassana Kanneh (who wrote the articles that appear on pages 3 and 9 plating what forgiveness means and what it actually means to live as a Continued on page 7
THE PALAVER HUT • ISSUE X • FALL 2011
Table of Contents Nothing to Undo
by cynthia travis While we cannot undo what we have already done, we can acknowledge our own actions and their consequences.
Monrovia Project Talks
by lassana kanneh The FGP/egp Monrovia project team is keeping the passion and commitment alive.
Voinjama Community Project
by varlee sheriff & ezekiel mavolo As Future Guardians of Peace, we enjoy being in the peacebuilding process.
Community Service Report
by korpo "blessing" varfee The discussion periods and working with these young girls was an eye-opening experience for me.
Health Awareness Project
by barnaby jacobs In many villages and towns in Bong County, hygienic practices are often ignored.
My Experience in Ghana
by lassana kanneh Traveling to Ghana, learning about the history and speaking in council have motivated me to seek more experiences like this.
In This Issue
1 3 4 6 8 9
you will read articles and stories from our Future Guardians of Peace and three university students who are part of our everyday gandhis scholarship program. In exchange for tuition and living expenses, our students are expected to put forth their best effort in school and to use part of their vacation time for community service based in their particular experiences, interests and gifts. everyday gandhis provides a collaborative sounding board for budgeting and project design as well as modest financial support for expenses such as food, transportation and photography. Our goal is reciprocal relationships through mutual accountability and mutual benefit. We provide financial and logistical support as well as accompaniment to the students. We carefully monitor their healing and outreach in search of deep cultural and organizational learning that will sustain them and help us all to grow. We listen carefully to stories, challenges and questions as we seek to benefit the students and the communities they serve. We then offer these stories, images and insights to you, our extended and virtual community. Please join us by contributing your own stories and insights, your hard-won wisdom, your dreams and your support. - Cynthia Travis
A Permaculture Partnership
building a sustainable future
An International Debut the everyday gandhis team
Ghana Flora, photo by Morris Kamara
Liberia Projects: Monrovia Project Talks by lassana kanneh
A
s part of the service obligation of our scholarships, the Future Guardians of Peace and everyday gandhis staff in Liberia decided to organize a community project to interest the youth in two cities in community peacebuilding here in Liberia. Voinjama, in Lofa County, and the Liberian capital of Monrovia, in Montserrado County, were selected for the efforts. The Voinjama project took place over three separate days at the end of July and during the first half of August. It included a community clean-up day, a peace workshop, and a soccer match with two teams of youths from Voinjama. This project was facilitated by everyday gandhis staff and the Future Guardians of Peace: Ezekiel Mavolo, Akoi Mawolo, Morris Kamara, Esther Kapku and Mohammed Kamara.
In the second planning session discussion, we changed the dynamic because we learned that the community wasn’t ready to accept the ideas brought out in the first session without getting to know us better. So before going into a community workshop with them, spoke further about the Future Guardians of Peace and everyday gandhis, and we established a better connection with the youth of through an open round-table discussion. We also concluded in the second session that following the roundtable discussion that we should host two matches: a soccer game and a kickball match, among the youth of the community. This idea and the open round-table discussion especially energized the youths from Lotto Town and Bernard’s Beach in the Sinkor area of Monrovia.
Youth Gathering in Monrovia, photo by Lassana Kanneh
The three-day event was a huge success that brought the community together. (See a related article about events in Voinjama, on page 4 of this newsletter.) The Monrovia project has not yet been implemented, but the project plan is being carefully thought out and put together with the help of the community. So far we have held three meetings to plan and let the community learn about everyday gandhis and who we are as Future Guardians of Peace. The first session focused on the plan to organize a two-day community workshop. The aim of the workshop is helping the youth understand and work in communities in Liberia through the three topics: healthy relationships, peace building, and the prevention and treatment of drug abuse.
In the third session, we met again and discussed the restructuring of the Monrovia project plan. We went out into the two communities as volunteers, without the benefit of any funding, and met with more than 15 young people, both male and female. Our main goals were to listen to community members to get their views and visions of how they want to improve their communities, and to discuss when and how we can make this project happen and ensure it will be a great success. The FGP/egp Monrovia project team is keeping the passion and commitment alive in order to have the project happen by the end of this year. We look forward to continuing our work with the communities as we finish our schooling in Monrovia. Lassana Kanneh is a Future Guardian of Peace with everyday gandhis and a sponsored student at Ricks Institute.
everyday gandhis • fall 2011 • 3
Voinjama Community Project with the Future Guardians of Peace by varlee sheriff and ezekiel mavolo
T
he Voinjama Community Project, initiated by the Future Guardians of Peace with everyday gandhis, included the Cleaning Up Campaign, a Peace Workshop, and soccer game between communities. As Future Guardians of Peace, we enjoy being in the peacebuilding process because many people in Liberia hold the belief that former child soldiers or ex-combatants cannot change. This project was designed to enable ex-combatants, former child soldiers and other waraffected youths to join together and co-create work and activities that benefit our communities. The most interesting part of our work is that we are involved with people who are in similar situations as us. They are in our age group and most of them underwent the same afflictions we experienced during and after the 14-year civil war. So, as we continue to engage with them, listening to their stories and learning from them and they from us, we are all continuing our own and our communities’ healing process. Six of the Future Guardians of Peace – Varlee Sheriff, Morris Kamara, Mohammed Kamara, Akoi Mawolo, Ezekiel Mavolo and Esther Kpaku – met with Galakpai W. Kortimai, the superintendent (governor) of Lofa County, on July 21st to consult with him about our contribution to the July 26th Independence Day Celebration. He told us that he is so glad to see people like us come back in our county bringing community improvement projects to the area. He and the mayor of Voinjama, Madam Youngon Shama, added that we are welcome not only in Voinjama city, but in every part of Lofa County. Before we started our activities, we talked with people about our mission as peacebuilders and our ideas for community projects as Future Guardians of Peace. There were people we have known for awhile and those we hadn’t met before. We were sure to include some former members of everyday gandhis: Hawa Kamara, Mama Kaneh, Mamadee Kamara, Jallah Sawo to show to them that we will remain and always will be family.
The Clean-up Campaign, photo by Mohammed Kamara
Famille Pierrat – Photo courtesy of Anaïs Saint-André
Bill F.C. in Voinjama, photo by Mohammed Kamara
The Cleaning Up Campaign was held the morning of July 24th. The volunteers worked with us along the Kolahun Highway, from the gas station, through the market area and up to the former police depot down toward the border road to Guinea. Because of everyday gandhis' popularity in Voinjama, not only did people we know take part, but many new community people came forward to join the Cleaning Up Campaign. Everyone worked with us because the project benefited the community and also helped to make Lofa County proud for the guests who were coming for the celebration of the Independence Day on July 26th. The Community Workshop was held on August 2, 2011 at the peace office established by Mr. Lasana Kamara in Voinjama’s Mandingo quarter. Mr. Kamara, who has worked with everyday gandhis over several years, began the workshop by greeting everyone and giving an overview of the day’s program. One part of the workshop involved
4 • everyday gandhis • fall 2011
Telbomai F.C. in Voinjama, photo by Mohammed Kamara
sharing the experiences that the everyday gandhis’ team learned from the WANEP (West African Network for Peace) training team in Monrovia. One of the goals of this portion of the workshop was to ensure that the community could benefit from what we learned. The speakers for the morning were Ezekiel and Morris, followed by Mr. Kamara; they shared about anger and conflict. Ezekiel Mavolo then facilitated a discussion with the FGP-egp team and the participants. We defined the word conflict as a clash of ideas, values, and beliefs. We discussed different kinds of conflict. For example: inner conflict or inter-personal conflict that takes place within an individual, intra-personal conflict that happens between two persons, and group conflict that takes place between or among two or more groups of people. Group conflict can also involve both intra-personal and inter-personal issues. Finally, we discussed the causes of conflict and the stages of conflict. Esther Kpaku, Mohammed Kamara and Akoi Mawolo also did their part together as a team. Mohammed was the photographer and took beautiful pictures of the event. Esther handed out everyday gandhis' Voinjama Cleaning Up Campaign T-Shirts, and she and Akoi thanked everyone for coming. Mr. Kamara spoke about healthy relationships, the last topic of the discussion. After that, Pa-Mamadee, a Mandingo elder, was asked to do the closing prayer for the workshop and he led us in traditional Muslin prayer, the Al Fatiha. Refreshments were provided right after the workshop for all those who participated. It was clear that the local people appreciated us coming back to Voinjama to conduct such a peaceful workshop.
Our soccer game took place on August 14th. This was a wonderful day, despite a little rain during the game. You could see the happiness not only in the players of both teams, but also the spectators. People enjoy the fact that we have been putting on peace games for a long time now, and they always feel connected to the youth and us during these times. Before the game started, Mr. Lasana Kamara, Morris Kamara and coach William Perper emphasized that the game wasn’t about winning but was about encouraging the peaceful participation of all. Both teams played according to expectations, with no fights or false feelings, words or attitudes. The everyday gandhis–sponsored Bill Football Club defeated the Telbomai community team (a community located in the center of Voinjama), 6-4. Mr. Kamara presented the winners with a set of jerseys and a soccer ball. As long as we are in Liberia and are reaching out with peacemaking and peacebuilding activities, people feel the presence of the organization. Holding workshops, clean up campaigns, and soccer matches is a way to begin rebuilding a sense of community; it also enables us to reach out to people and learn what their needs are. More than anything, these programs help the youth realize the need to cooperate, become volunteers, and prevent conflict throughout their towns. Varlee Sheriff is a Future Guardian of Peace with everyday gandhis and a sponsored student at Ricks Institute. Ezekiel Mavolo is a Future Guardian of Peace with everyday gandhis and a sponsored student at Ricks Institute.
Discussions of Conflict with Ezekiel Mavolo, photo by Mohammed Kamara
everyday gandhis • fall 2011 • 5
Community Service Report by korpo blessing varfee
T
eenage pregnancy is a common and growing worldwide problem. In many parts of Liberia, it is a very serious problem. Goll Farm Community in Jorquelleh District is a case in point. This Bong County, community has an astounding number reported cases of teenage pregnancy: five out of seven teenage girls are pregnant. Even in the very short time I have lived in this community, it was easy for me to see how prevalent this problem is. Seeing its connection to another serious and widespread problem – the lack of enthusiasm for education among teenage girls – sparked my curiosity and prompted me to embark on a four-week discussion with 12 young girls in the community. These discussions with girls ranging in age from 13 to 20 led me to conclude that teenage pregnancy results from six main factors:
In our discussions, we focused on the question “Why is there a lack of enthusiasm for education among the young girls in the Goll Farm Community? It was observed that an age barrier is a key factor among the young teenage girls, which prevents their interest in education because they will be older that the rest of the students in elementary and/or high school. Also, many of the teenage girls forgo education to engage in trading and other work to help meet the demands of the expenses of daily living. I also learned from participants that many young girls in the community become sexually active as early as age 13. Another observation was boys’ widespread dislike of condoms. According to the girls, the boys avoid condoms because they claim using them deprives them of full satisfaction. Finally, for many girls abstinence feels impossible because their partners will not practice it. Their partners threaten to abandon the relationship if their sexual needs are not met. The young girls find this very difficult and so often succumb to boyfriends’ sexual demands. As a result of early childbearing, young girls must assume heavy responsibilities at a very young age; they have no choice but to become heavily engaged in the wellbeing of their family members. This in turn contributes to the widespread lack of interest in education among young women. At the same time, the inadequate education among teenagers in the Goll Farm Community is itself a main factor in teenage pregnancy.
Discussions of Teenage Pregnancy, photo by Suwah Walters
• First, a lack of parental guidance, in that most parents discourage their children from talking about sex and sometimes they even dissuade them from participating in discussions on sex education. • Second, peer pressure is a major factor encouraging teenagers to engage in sexual activities. • Third, there is inadequate knowledge about safe sex, with most of young girls unaware of what safe sex is, how they can protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases and prevent pregnancy. • Fourth, young women do not have access to traditional methods of preventing pregnancy, including contraceptive devices or medications. • Fifth, because poverty is so widespread, many young girls are easily influenced by older men who can offer them money, while their parents are often living in poverty, with little or no cash to spend on the family. • Finally, there are socioeconomic factors involved with many young girls, whose parents are poor, and are actually encouraged to get pregnant so they won’t feel so ‘deprived.’
6 • everyday gandhis • fall 2011
I believe that the prevalence of teenage pregnancies can be curbed – but only if community leaders, Government Health Agencies, and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) act to establish adequate health education programs and/or centers in the community. There is an urgent need to establish workshops for community youth, so they can be exposed to the benefits of education. One participant in our discussions, Ms Jenneh Flomo, told her story and gave some advice: “I grew up in a home where there was no parental care and concern about my needs. Everyone did whatever was pleasing. In my early teens, I got involved in a relationship with a guy whom I thought could have been a friend as we grew. I was mistaken! He lured me into a sexual relationship and to him I lost my virginity. At the age of 13, I conceived and had a child; right now, the father of my daughter is nowhere to be found. I am 20 years old with a 7 year-old daughter. “I have to get involved in trading to support my daughter because I do not want her to make the same mistakes I made. I am guiding her every step of the way as she grows. In this vein, I am exploring every avenue to help me to help to my daughter. She is in the first grade and my desire for her is to get the highest education possible. My advice to other participants and young girls of our community is to practice abstinence; if this is not possible, they should practice safe sex.”
Without a doubt, teenage pregnancy is a dominant issue in the lives of teenagers in the Goll Farm Community. Because of the lack of education, peer pressure is taking pre-eminence over the livelihood of these young women. As a result, the pattern of early pregnancy and childbearing, early family responsibilities, the desire to forfeit education becomes the norm for them. The four-week discussions we held helped the girls in many ways because they represented the first deliberate effort to examine with them the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy in the community. As we concluded, we developed a list of ideas for the ways forward. Almost all of the participants indicated they felt the need to change their current behavior and begin to practice one or more methods of pregnancy prevention – from sexual abstinence, to the use of contraceptives, condoms, and/or gaining an understanding of ovulation and practicing the ‘rhythm method’. The discussion periods and working with these young girls was an eye-opening experience for me because I was able to understand some of the needs and dilemmas that the young women of this community face. I think that there is a need to create awareness through workshops and mass media to help reverse the influences that have largely controlled their behavior. This endeavor was rewarding to both the young women who participated and will even prove useful to those who did not attend. The participants said they are eager to share some of the discussion points with their peers who could not be at the meetings. I look forward to working again with the young women on this and any other matters that are of importance to the community. Korpo ‘Blessing’ Varfee is a brilliant and hard-working young woman from Voinjama who is a Cuttington scholarship student sponsored by everyday gandhis. Blessing is her nickname.
Continued from cover
Morris’ Apology, photo by Ian Ellerby
peacemaker day by day. For example, during our conversations, Morris Kamara realized there was a young woman in Voinjama to whom he still owed an apology. He asked us to accompany him to speak to her. We sat in humble awe at his eloquence as he spoke to her of what he had done and why, and begged her to forgive him. She accepted his apology gladly – as you can see in their smiles in the photograph on this page [or page__]. A few days later, we went with Morris to the family that first gave him shelter after the war, and listened as he found the beautiful and poetic words to thank them. Almost daily, when using my iPhone, the following phrase often pops up on the screen: Nothing to Undo This little message always makes me think of the Future Guardians of Peace, and also of my own struggles to find forgiveness for myself and others. While we cannot undo what we have already done, we can acknowledge our own actions and their consequences. We can seek to make amends, as best we can, with and to those we have hurt. In time, we may find compassion for ourselves and others. Taking these steps allows us to hold the events of our lives in a different context and can change the trajectory of our individual and collective stories. In these ways, we can begin to embody the wisdom of the wound, rather than seeking to escape or to dwell on the past. Perhaps this can give us the courage to become living examples – in the fullest meaning of the words – of our understanding of the words Nothing to Undo. Cynthia Travis is the Founder & President of everyday gandhis.
Young Women of Goll Farm Community, photo by Suwah Walters
Akoi Mawolo in Ghana, photo by Morris Kamara
everyday gandhis • fall 2011 • 7
Health Awareness Project in Bong County by barnaby w. jacobs
T
his summer, I helped to implement my service project on health education in two communities – Nyan and Kpanyah towns – in Bong County, Liberia. In each town, our team with about 50 local participants, including women, children, men and young adults. Before starting the program, our team visited Nyan and Kpanyah Towns and spoke with the youth and elders there to see how they felt about our offering them health awareness education. The people were happy to meet us. At first, they first thought that we were NGO (nongovernmental organization) workers who had come with materials or food items to give them. The local residents listened to us carefully; when we finished explaining that we are pre-medical students from Cuttington University wanting to help the community, they were happy to welcome us. We were respectful to them during discussions and careful to give people plenty of time to share their own views. We helped them understand that a big part of our work is learning from the community. Based on these initial meetings, Hygiene Promotion and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) were the two topics that we agreed to focus on. In many villages and towns in Bong County, hygienic practices are often ignored. We observed that many people build their latrines near the same areas where they cook their food and even fetch their drinking water. Due to the lack of pipe-borne water in many of those areas, the people rely on creek water to cook and drink. Where there is also a lack of latrines, many use the bushes to defecate. During the rainy season, fecal matter washes right down into the same creeks that people drink from. As a result, many people, especially children, are likely to get sick. Our Hygiene Promotion topics covered cleanliness, hand washing, and the protection of food and water. Everyone participated fully in the discussions. In our presentations, we emphasized the importance of washing one’s hands after using the latrine, after work, and before touching any food. The villagers also have unique ways of keeping their surroundings clean; mindful that we were there as students, our work including learning as much from them as we were sharing. STDs are a problem everywhere. In Liberia, as in many countries, condom use is less common among villagers than among urban dwellers. To prevent STDs, we found that most young people in the villages prefer what they call “flesh to flesh” contact rather than using condoms to prevent contracting STDs during sexual activity. As young people ourselves, it was worthwhile listening to our peers share their experiences with us. In the villages, talking about sex is still a big taboo. So discussing the topic was sometimes embarrassing to people, because they are not accustomed to it, especially in the presence of sisters or parents.
8 • everyday gandhis • fall 2011
In the end we succeeded in passing on the message about several types of STDs, including the dreaded HIV-AIDS pandemic, its transmission, signs and symptoms. At the end of the one-month exercise, participants expressed strong satisfaction and asked us to revisit them every time we can. There were some constraints that we had to work around because many people were busy with farming activities, which meant we had to start the awareness sessions in the late evening. This timing was difficult for us, as this often meant we had to walk the 20 miles back to our campus at night, or sleep in the village if we did not have the use of bikes or motorbikes. The participants had high expectations. Some of the people expected us to pay them or provide food for them after each session. However, we were able to again tell them that this was not the usual NGO event where people get money or food when they attend workshops. The little we had for entertainment and refreshment was shared with the participants. old man togba’s story Old man Togba told us in Nyan Town that many NGOs do not fulfill their promises to construct hand pumps, build toilets, health facilities, educational facilities, and more in their community. Each time they called the NGOs, they were always busy or would just keep promising them. Togba pointed out that the school building project that is now going on in the village is a government project — as the NGOs that had promised to build schools had failed to come through. Togba said one of the community’s main needs now is for hand pumps and a pit latrine, because they keep cattle in town that are polluting the source of drinking water. All of this puts the town at greater risk for outbreaks of diarrhea and many other diseases and infections. Old man Togba appealed on behalf of the town for regular health awareness workshops so that the incidence of water-borne diseases can be minimized through education. . He encouraged our team to plan additional trips to Nyan Town to keep teaching and creating awareness on infection control and personal hygiene. We observed that most of the towns in Bong County are not aware of optimum personal hygiene practices, and how people can prevent STDs and other illnesses. We feel that a special health project needs to be undertaken in the most neglected parts of the county to regularly inform and create awareness on health and personal hygiene through community workshops and discussions, hygiene and STD education programs broadcast on local radio stations, and regular visits by our teams during college vacation days. If this is done, the living conditions of Liberian villagers will improve and sickness will be reduced. Barnaby W. Jacobs is a Cuttington University student on scholarship from everyday gandhis and is pre-med student.
My Experiences in Ghana by lassana kanneh
M
y experiences on a recent trip to Ghana with members of the Future Guardians of Peace were wonderful and inspiring. The interactions with our international partners at everyday gandhis and friends from the United States were very meaningful during our visit to this West African country.
It was critical for me to learn these stories because I am so interested in knowing the histories of different African countries and countries around the world. These stories help to inform me about written and oral communication, which I am interested in because I want to become an international journalist. Through teaching me that learning history requires listening well and writing down facts, the stories also helped to strengthen me deeply, as I continue my own healing process.. While in Ghana, we also held many councils with each other. From this, I learned about how to direct conversation, how to think critically and be confident in speaking my comments and analysis. We all gained more self-esteem from being in council together and I can now observe myself speaking with others clearly and responsibly.
The Castle Elmina, photo by Mohammed Kamara
Ghana is a beautiful country in West Africa with a uniquely significant history. One of our visits was to an important historical site, the Slave Castle in Elmina. It was amazing to hear about the history and the practices of slavery in Africa, and listening to those stories made me sad. I felt so downhearted to be reminded that our forefathers were captured here, used as slaves and shipped to Europe and the Americas to work on plantations.
Traveling to Ghana, learning about the history and speaking in council have motivated me to seek more experiences like this and connect with people from different backgrounds. The trip was special for me because I was able to expand my peacebuilding skills by interacting with different kinds of people. I believe that as a peacebuilder, I must interact with all types of people -- because others’ experiences are also sources of my own restoration and healing. . Lassana Kanneh is a Future Guardian of Peace with everyday gandhis and a sponsored student at Ricks Institute.
Ato Ashun, a man who works in the castle as guide, is the author of the book Elmina, The Castle and the Slave Trade. He talked to us about the arrival of the Portuguese (the first Europeans to come to Africa), trading between the Portuguese and local peoples, and the beginning of the slave trade at ‘The Castle’. The arrival of the Portuguese caused confusion because some of the local peoples considered them to be enemies, while others took them to be gods. This changed when the Portuguese traded guns, gunpowder, tobacco, iron bars, and other items with the locals in exchange for gold, ivory, and spices. Gold was the commodity the Portuguese most wanted. The rate at which the locals exchanged it for the Portuguese goods gave the Europeans the notion that the villages had plenty of gold. Ato Ashun explained that the town was called “El Mina”, the mine (in Portuguese). This name was transformed to today’s word, Elmina. Ato Ashun noted that Elmina represented the first time a West African chief had transferred a land title to a European. The plot of land on which the castle stands is a huge rock believed to be a sacred place for some of the gods of the land. When the locals saw the foreigners quarrying the rock they attacked the Portuguese until the chiefs came to settle the dispute. A Gate of No Return, photo by Morris Kamara
everyday gandhis • fall 2011 • 9
A Permaculture Partnership building a sustainable future
F
rom December 5th-18th, 2011, everyday gandhis, has the unique opportunity to partner with Ricks Institute in Liberia to send 11 students and two staff members to a Permaculture Design Certification Course at Nyumbani Village in Kenya. The course will be taught by Warren Brush of Quail Springs and True Nature Design, and will be attended by participants from Tanzania, Kenya, Europe, the United States, and other countries around the world. everyday gandhis is sending over our seven Future Guardians of Peace and six other students and staff members from Ricks Institute in Monrovia who will become certified permaculturalists and be equipped with the tools of sustainability to bring back to their country and share with their school, as well as their communities. Not only will they be gaining hands-on experience, but they will be meeting other students from African countries who are working to help their communities as well. The goal of this trip is to have all of the participants from Liberia bring the lessons home and begin to implement them on campus at Ricks in order to provide food for the students and staff, improve sanitation, and work towards maintaining a vibrant, healthy school. We need your help to make this incredible partnership a reality… Some of the skills that students will take away from this course are: a permaculture certification, a contribution to the essential work that is bettering the lives of so many people in Kenya, hands-on skills in sustainable systems design and application in a village setting, water harvesting, storage and conservation strategies that drought proof landscapes, local food security and waste cycling, appropriate technology, ecological building, energy efficiency, food forestry, and so much more…
the course: Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture and the honoring of our interdependent relationship with all that sustains us, there is no possibility of a stable social order and the budding of intact, land-rooted culture. The costs to make this partnership and learning exchange happen are: • Tuition (incl. meals and accommodation): $350 per student, $4,550 total • Passports for 8 of our students: $200 each for a total of $1,600 • Visas to enter Kenya: $50 each for a total of $650 • Roundtrip Airfare for 13: $16,900 total A special thanks to Warren Brush and Nyumbani Village for allowing a discounted tuition rate for our participants from Liberia. Through this unique experience, an empowering perspective on sustainability is born and taken back to families and homes throughout the world, and of course Liberia, where these tools will foster vivacious, invigorating communities.
Nyumbani Village, where the course will take place, is located in the Kitui District, about two hours from Nairobi, Kenya. It is the home to hundreds of elders and children who were orphaned by family members who have died of HIV/AIDS. Permaculture has become a staple in the village and provides sustenance and empowerment through the projects and gardens that have been developed there.
2010 Permaculture design participant, photo by Warren Brush
10 • everyday gandhis • fall 2011
A Kenyan nursery in progress, photo by Warren Brush
An International Debut for the Future Guardians of Peace In the last several months, we’ve continued our work on our newest documentary, Future Guardians of Peace: From Child Soldiers to Peacebuilders. The filming trips to Ghana and Liberia this summer proved to be incredible – the footage turned out to be amazingly deep and inspiring – so much so that it not only enhanced the documentary, but provided insight and healing to those who took part. Filming has been completed and the documentary is now in post-production, scheduled for U.S. release in December 2011, and an international screening tour in 2012. The documentary will be traveling to film festivals, community centers, United States Veterans’ centers, other non-profit organizations, schools and galleries internationally. The documentary will, of course, be shown all across Liberia, in hopes that the unique stories of the six young people featured in the film will inspire hope and give a new perspective on the processes of restoration and peacebuilding.
Traveling along with the film will be a Future Guardians of Peace Multi-Media Exhibit. The heart of this exhibit is a collection of photographs taken between March 2008 and July 2011 by the Future Guardians. The images are contextualized and their impact strengthened through the display of personal comments and autobiographies by the six young adults. The photos will be paired with the documentary film and soundtrack of original Liberian music to immerse the viewer in the lives and stories of the Future Guardians of Peace, as well as raise awareness about the plight of former child soldiers worldwide. If you or someone you know is interested in hosting or sponsoring a screening, exhibit, or both, please contact Ana Brush at ana@everydaygandhis.org or call 805-966-9300 for more information. We look forward to sharing these astounding stories of transformation, healing, and hope with communities around the world.
The everyday gandhis team
Photos compliments of Ian Ellerby
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everyday gandhis ph: 805.966.9300 • fax: 805.966.9301 • www.everydaygandhis.org everyday gandhis is a California 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation. All donations are tax-deductable as provided by law. ©2011 everyday gandhis project inc. All rights reserved. Design & Layout by Jesse Smith • www.ablacksmith.com • Printed on 100% post- consumer recycled paper •