Peacebuilding for Elementary Schools

Armed conflict has a vast impact on health and social development. CNIS and the Injury Control Centre – Uganda (ICC-U) have studied the impact that armed conflict has on the injury pandemic.

Our research has shown that injury is much higher (700%) in the war torn district of Gulu in Northern Uganda than in the center of the country. In Gulu, the schools are battlegrounds for the rebels and the national army. Children are often forced to become soldiers, sex slaves or porters. The international aid is concentrated on the child soldiers and very little is done for the average child. The initial research by CNIS and ICC-U has demonstrated that the average Gulu child is very traumatized and that all children are affected by the war, not only the child soldiers.

With the financial support of CIDA Peace Building Unit, the CNIS and the ICC-U implemented a non-violent conflict resolution curriculum for primary school students in grade five. The project included an evaluation of injury, violence and attitudes, provided first-aid kits for the schools and first-aid training for the teachers and the preparation of a curriculum and teacher training in non-violent conflict resolution.

Student Counselling Hut, Gulu, Uganda

The Peacebuilding Course was introduced in 6 schools in Gulu in 2003 and by 2005 it was part of the curriculum for 50 primary schools in the area. In 2008, the Peacebuilding program was translated and implemented in Axum, Northern Ethiopia, which has also recently been affected by war.

The goal of the Peacebuilding Course is to instill values of living and working cooperatively with tolerance, respect and caring for others in the community. The course aims to inform children of the dangers of violence and teach them how to prevent and resolve disputes and how to become responsible citizens and agents for peace.

Since peace building and conflict resolution are universally important skills, CNIS has introduced the course material to our global classroom program in Canada. The Salama Safari will allow Canadian school children to go on a virtual bike trip through Africa, while learning the key areas of peace building.