A program of Mennonite Central Committee

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Sisters for Peace Our father, Malam Bello Ubayo, is a commercial cab driver and lives in Mangu Halle, Nigeria with his family.

As a Muslim, our father has two wives and five children. Our mothers, Rabi Bello Ubayo and Iyami Bello Ubayo, are full of rivalry and quarrel quite frequently. Being Peace Club members of the government secondary school Mangu Halle, my sister Aishatu Bello Ubayo (right) and I, against all odds, do things together as best of friends.

This situation encourages our father to constantly report our mothers to us whenever they argue, urging us as peace builders to intervene by correcting and advising them. Most times when we insist, they succumb and apologize.

We are happy because we are helping to keep the peace in our home. As Peace Club members, we also deliver regular peace talks and dramas that depict the value of tolerance, hard work and nonviolent strategies to settle disputes at the school assemblies. Our fellow students listen and look up to us with respect and goodwill.

In fact, the Parent Teachers Association of the school once invited the Peace Club members to their meeting where they acknowledged the remarkable positive impacts the club has had on their children, especially on bullying, truancy and conflict resolution. The school management and the PTA were full of praises for the peace club, its teachers, MCC and Global Family, saying through us, the future could not be any brighter!

Program update EPRT (Emergency Preparedness Response Teams) now has 14 Peace Clubs functioning fully in schools in the Plateau State. We produced and distributed more Peace Club manuals to teachers, students, and our supervisors. The impact these Peace Clubs have is growing with an increased demand for clubs in more schools. Thus far over 400 teachers and students have been trained and equipped with various peacebuilding skills.

Other news While successes are being recorded in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North Eastern States, our greatest challenge is in the Plateau State. Nigeria’s crime rate is growing and a recent teacher strike in government schools also slowed down our Step-Down trainings. Despite these challenges we are determined to work harder in identifying new schools, carrying out trainings and having Step-Down workshops in more schools.

The Mangu Hale peace club has been active since 2013.

Caroline Emmanuel says “I once mediated between my grandmother and my aunt.”

Fall 2015—NigeriaChanging Hearts for Peace

Story by Amina Bello Ubayo as told to Ahmed Salihu Photos by Dave Klassen