Empowering Refugees From Africa's Conflicts

Some boys at a mindfulness seminar make mandalas.

At various times throughout the last three decades, there has been strife and warfare in various countries of the African continent. The Democratic Republic of the Congo experienced the bulk of its civil conflict between August 1998 and April 2004, causing the deaths of some 3.8 million people. Not only was the area wracked by conflict, but much of its basic social services provided by the government collapsed and added to the instability. About 50 million Congolese people continue to be affected.

Fraide-Emmanuel, also known as Papa Fremma was a survivor of the Congolese conflict and had lived in the Nakivale Refugee Camp. He became a firm believer in peace and developed a great compassion for those suffering from poverty, war, and disasters. Papa then had an opportunity to travel to other places in the world, including the Netherlands, where he graduated from Gronigen University with a Building Network Infrastructure Certificate.



Later, he traveled to Thailand, where he trained as a monk and received a Certificate In Peace Building. Back in the Congo again, Papa Fremma hosted a one-year PEACE AND YOUTH TRANSFORMATION PROJECT, with the purpose of empowering women and youth. The project started with peace-building and conflict-resolution seminars right in the same refugee camp in which he had lived. Utilizing his training as a monk, he taught meditation as a way of building the inner peace needed to establish peace in the surrounding world.

Continued outreach was planned after the seminars were completed, helping to address the deep traumas experienced by these survivors. Papa Fremma said, "I have lived through these traumas and continue to struggle in many ways; I have found a peace that allows me to keep going. I want to share this [peace] with those still in the camps."

The once-small project has now grown larger and become known as the AFRICAN PEACE EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (APENET). Nakivale Refugee camp houses 56,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children. They come from such places as Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, and South Sudan. APENET continues to promote peace by supporting refugees, helping in recovery from trauma, providing education, and help in reconstruction. Most of all, this organization fills in the gaps in social services that result from conflicts in the refugees' country of origins. Pappa Fremma still remains loyal to his foundations in peace and meditation, utilizing his skills to promote healing.

Some children standing by a temporary shack at a refugee camp.

Plans for the future include acquiring the materials for refugees to develop their own crafts products for purchasing online; building structures for education, health care services, and community buildings; and providing peace programs to schools in rural Uganda. Volunteers and donations are always welcome.

New shoes arrive for mothers with children.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: papa-emma-nakivale-refuge-camp-peace-youth-transformation-project; and the above links.

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