|
The first tool is to empower the people to produce enough food.
From the colonial time the first word you hear from people: "I
am hungry".
By establishing a demonstration farm the bishop is helping people to secure
their food situation. From the demonstration farm and a garden and an
orchard, people will learn not only to increase the harvest by their cultivation
and food production efforts, but also to learn to cultivate new crops
that can improve their daily menu. Through this project, improved farming
methods will be introduced in order to diversify livelihood opportunities
among the communities and therefore reduce the occurence of cattle rustling.
The improved methods include; ox plough technology, the use of improved
varieties of seeds and good crops and husbandry practices. The purpose
is to support the efforts of pastoral/nomadic people in food production
and also enable them gradually to be successful agro/pastoralists. It
is anticipated that by adopting these farming methods, the communities
will have food suplus and reliance on improved quality cattle for their
livelihood. This in turn will reduce the conflict that has existed for
many years among these communities, reduce frequency of famine and stop
begging for food.
The second tool is to make formal education accessible and acceptable
for the girls, boys and adults in the pastoral communities.
People are very eager to get education for their children and especially
the Sudanese people are very much looking for the formal education which
can give a paper to proof that certain school levels have been passed.
By establishing schools from nursery stage to primary and later on also
secondary school the bishop's vision with the Holy Trinity Peace Village
will be in a position to meet one of the main concerns of the people.
But giving possibilities for schools and education for the young people
will not be covering the illiterate adults who during the years of war
have lost the possibilities for attending school. By starting up with
adult education programs, the peace village will bring an offer to those
generations too. Not education for job opportunities but for life.
The people in Kuron area will be from the Toposa, the Jie, the Nyangatom,
the Kachipo and other communities in the surrounding. The pilot project
is expected to create a foundation for lasting peace among the sudanese
communities. Kuron Demonstration Farm Project aims at introducing animal
traction technology to train the community to increase the acreage of
land under cultivation using animal traction in stead of the traditional
hoes which has limited the people to opening small pieces of land. Traditionally,
livestock is kept for prestige and marriages, which are some of the main
reasons why youth are so much involved in raiding neighboring communities
and youth have no other activities. Introducing animal traction technology
will therefore bring about a new use to which they put their livestock
hence keeping the youth occupied and reducing their free time, which is
otherwise used for cattle raiding.
The third tool is to promote peaceful co-existence among the neighboring
tribes.
In most cases cattle rustling is conducted during the rainy season when
there is water along the routes and when the communities see no access
of others. Therefore the beneficiaries will not only acquire new agricultural
skills to enhance food security but also live in harmony among themselves
despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds. In addition, the people working
on the farm will be drawn from the other communities. This will have the
effect of demonstrating that the communities can work together without
suspicion. This has already started at the Peace Village through a food
for work project supported by World Food Program and CRS. The pilot project
is therefore expected to create a foundation for lasting peace among the
communities. |
|