On the night of Sunday 11th July 2010, a tragedy fell in Kampala when soccer fans watching the world cup finals at Lugogo Rugby club and Ethiopian village Restaurant in Kabalagala suburbs were bombed by suspected suicide terrorists. In this twin bombing, lives of over 70 innocent persons were lost with very many sustaining serious injuries. As a religious community, we noticed that various faiths lost their followers in this cowardly attack.
Spear headed by the IFAPA Uganda chapter, religious leaders and followers of various faiths came together in a joint prayer in the spirit of condolence to the bomb victims and condemning this anti faith and inhuman act of terrorism.
The following is a sample of some of the condolence prayers and statements that came from various religious leaders and personalities IFAPA Uganda Chapter / Youth Desk coordinator

Sheikh Byamugenzi Hamid (Youth Desk Coordinator) addressed an inter-faith Congregation “Greetings of Peace to you your respective capacity. On behalf of the Islamic Faith and my own behalf, I join the nation in mourning the death of innocent human beings that occurred on the night of the world cup finals both at Kabalagala and Kyadondo Rugby club in Kampala. Whereas the suspected terrorists are said to be Muslims of the Al-Shabab of Somalia, the truth of the matter is that: Islam as a creed is a peaceful, merciful, non violent, human respecting and tolerant religion. Ideologically, Muslims have a right of self determination through Jihad if is attacked. However, Jihad has principals and procedures that
Now, what happened on Sunday is completely out of this context.
If anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder or to spread mischief in the land it would be as if he killed all man kind, and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of all man kind” Quran Chapter 5:Verse32
Finally we extend our condolences to the believed families and pray that the Almighty Allah protects us from such human acts. We also pray for real peace to prevail in northern Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine and Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Guinea and everywhere in the
Let there be peace today and tomorrow”

After the condolence prayer, The Youth Desk/Chapter Coordinator took off some time for a media/press Question and answer briefing. This was crucial because there was an increasing perception among the general public that since the suspected terrorists were Al-Shaban from Somalia, It was a deliberate Jihad from the Muslim community especially from Somalia against Ugandans.
The Coordinator who also has a strong Islamic background was surrounded by journalists for an explanation. He provided a deeper explanation and repeated the highlighted text as seen in his statement and prayer in the above quotation.

IFAPA Uganda Chapter Chairperson: Canon. B.A.S Nima, The IFAPA Uganda Chapter Chairperson with grief preceding prayers and statements from Bishop Ochora (Rt Bishop of Northern Uganda), Sister Mary Gorreti Kisaakye, Dr. George Olinga, Mr. Gamal Hassan and Head of the BAPS temple, had the following to:
“It is really sad that 84 innocent lives were lost and over 50 wounded in a war of terror. From our Christian Religious teachings such actions of mass killings are highly castigated. Human life is sacred and should never be taken away.
In my special capacity as the Chairperson of IFAPA Uganda Chapter, Head of Ecumenism and Peace building department at Uganda joint Christian council and on behalf of the Continental wide Interfaith Network I convey our sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the bloody Sunday, to the President, Vice President, all Ugandans, Africans and humanity at large.
We have lost very many people in these horrendous actions. We call up on every individual to pray for the dead and the wounded. All faith traditions do offer great respect and honour to human life. Violence and use of force never solve problems. It is the negotiations, persuasions dialogue and reconciliation among others that lead to long lasting peace. We appeal to the perpetuators of these attacks to stop and repent. God is always merciful and ready to accept back his weak hearted people.
The entire continent and all peace loving men and women are considered. As people of faith we use this plat form of the joint prayers to demand that justice is done. All measures should be undertaken by the authorities to addresses the causes of these attacks and also identify the real solutions holistically.
May the Good Almighty protect and save our nation and the entire world from acts of violence and human suffering”.
From the Bahai Temple/ Community: Dr. George Olinga and Mr. Hassan Gamal:
A delegation from the Bahai temple which is also the first and oldest Bahai temple in Africa joined other religious dignitaries in this historic event with a prayer and a statement of condolence from the Bahai community prayer. In a prayer led by Dr. George Olinga, he called on the Almighty God to be with his people this very challenging situation, and strengthen all the bomb victims and their families. He also cried to the Creator to provide wisdom and knowledge to the authorities taking on the investigations. “I call upon every one to be careful during this period and remain faithful to God the master of creation” he said.
While in a statement read by Mr. Hassan Gamal, the Bahai community condemned the act of terrorism that claimed lives of innocent persons regardless of age, sex, tribe, faith, colour, political affiliation or any other difference.
The statement also thanked the continent wide constituency of religious leaders (IFAPA) for thinking it wise to often bring together the various faiths for a joint voice.
Though not present, special tribute was given to Dr. Ishmael Noko the IFAPA President and his staff, the IFAPA Uganda chapter and the Youth Desk.
Recalling from history, the statement reminded the congregation that most of the mass killings (terrorisms) in earlier history had largely an economic or political/ human rights background. However recently, religion has been linked. This is a wrong twist of events because all religions teach generosity, tolerance, forgiveness, repentance, respect and protection of especially humanity. The people who have continuously used religion
to promote their evil acts such as terrorism are only selfish, greedy and only should always only expect condemnation from all faiths. Acts such like this are not only unfair to humanity but are a sin in the face of the almighty creator of the universe.
From the Hindu Community the Bahai Temple: The Hindu community hosted and lead the prayers from the start with a prayers and music from the Hindu youth group and closed the occasion with a statement from the head of the Hindu temple (BAPS shree Swaminarayan Mandir).
In the statement the Hindu community borrowing from the wisdom of Ghandi, prayed for unity, tolerance and security consciousness among all Ugandans.
The representative of the temple also thanked the IFAPA Constituency for coming together for a common voice. “As religious
institutions, it is through gatherings such as this one that we can surely express our unity and Religion is a fulcrum of any society and grows from strength to strength when it starts to
respond to concerns of humanity. Our religious communities continue to experience new faces of inhuman acts of terrorism and other community problems such as; insecurity, poverty, xenophobia, unemployment, famine, insufficient water and electricity, child sacrifice, trafficking and madder, disease, bad governance, conflict and war. This is an increasing challenge
for religious leaders and institutions as they ensure harmony amongst their followers and communities at large.
Through inter-faith engagements and gatherings, IFAPA opens gates for a common voice where lessons, challenges and opportunities can be shared amongst the various
faiths. This is borrowed from a background that community problems do not segregate.

‘Faith’ is well placed to cause positive changes in any society, due to its ability to reach a varying spectrum of people, that is, the young and the old. According to UNIFEM, “…religious institutions … play key roles in gender socialization, and can act as agents of transformation…. In religious institutions, spiritual leaders can act as role models who value compassion and community building over more constraining gender roles.”

Faith-based organizations and places of worship are increasingly becoming places of solace. According to Amnesty International, “for countless women home is not a refuge but a place of terror.” In this respect the church has become a place of refuge and a place of healing. However, the church has kept silent about gender-based violence. Yet some members of the congregation are victims of violence who may be hurting and in need of support. Places of worship need to create an atmosphere of openness and acceptance, as people need a place where they can be comfortable in sharing their pain. The openness of this can only be achieved if the leaders will break the silence against gender-based violence.

A pastor in Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church says, “I find that if I include in a pastoral prayer; a prayer for survivors of sexual abuse and incest…the next week I have probably three or four people coming into my office to share their story, to tell how affirmed they are, that we recognize that they exist and that we walk through the pain with them”, (Jan Pettit).

The silence and apathy towards gender based violence has largely been caused by the fact that many religious leaders are ignorant about where to send the survivors who may share their experience with them for further assistance either legally, in matters of health or otherwise. Yet, these are essential services that a woman or a child who has undergone any form of violence needs to ensure that holistic healing has takes place.

This is then forms the basis of the Tamar Campaign facilitated by Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA). The campaign acknowledges the existence of Gender-Based Violence in the society, with particular focus on sexual and domestic violence and seeks to challenge and equip the Church to break the silence around this vice. Breaking the silence around gender based violence, then breaks the cycle of violence and reduces incidences of violence. Therefore, the Tamar Campaign is the bridge linking the churches with the advocates of gender-based violence issues. In addition to this, Tamar Campaign aims at being a resource center for the church leaders equipping them to handle the topic on gender based violence Biblically.

About Tamar Campaign

The Tamar Campaign acknowledges that, “…to adequately respond to the needs of battered women and rape survivors, it is imperative that the clergy learn about violence against women and reach out to secular advocates and services. Likewise, it is imperative that the secular advocates and counselors appreciate the importance of women’s religious backgrounds and reach out to clergy and religious groups to find resources to meet the needs of victims” (Rev. Fortune and Enger, 2005).

The Campaign was launched in 2005 February, when it became increasingly evident that FECCLAHA could not continue to work in the area of peace building in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa without seeking to address more specifically Gender-Based Violence (GBV). This was an issue that was gravely affecting a huge portion of the population, mainly women and children in this region. Tamar Campaign in Kenya adopted the model from Ujamaa Center in South Africa where contextual Bible Study/theological reflection has been adopted as a methodology of dealing with gender based violence. FECCLAHA in collaboration with St. Paul’s United Theological College and World Council of Churches (WCC) then launched the Tamar Campaign. The Campaign’s vision is a continent, free from sexual and domestic violence, in which men and women relate as equal partners made in God’s image. In addition, the Campaign’s mission is to demonstrate God’s compassion and justice to women and children who suffer indignity and violation through sexual and domestic violence.

What makes the Tamar Campaign faith-based is use of the scriptures; the guiding principles of the faith to react to the high numbers of human rights violations experienced. The Tamar Campaign is developed from a story in the Bible of the incestuous rape of Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1-22), the text is a hair-rising narrative that describes only too accurately much of the dynamics of sexual violence experienced by women across the world. This is not only a text about gender violence; it is also a text about the failure of family and governmental structures to protect women and about the effects of gender violence on other aspects of life. An issue that stands out in the story of Tamar is silence of the survivor and the impunity…. The survivor is denied justice by the systems that be – this same pattern is replicated in many conflict, post-conflict and even countries in peaceful situations.

Churches and faith based organizations comprehensively addressing GBV will publicly speak out against GBV and engage governments in combating GBV, they will put in place polices against GBV and other forms of violence, develop programs with a GBV focus and make the link between GBV & HIV and AIDS within these programs. The use of scripture to address issues of GBV and particularly the incestuous rape of Tamar enables readers to engage with issues such as the silencing of women who have been raped, the cultural determinants of sexual violence within communities and the impunity that surrounds sexual violence. The Tamar narrative also helps participants to study African cultures and religion alongside the Bible which have been used negatively but if well articulated have liberating messages just like the Bible.

The Church and indeed the religious institutions are uniquely placed to play a decisive role in the prevention and elimination of the different forms of violence against women and children. They have the clout and the capacity to minister to the needs of those who have been abused as well as those who are perpetrators. The Church and these other religious institutions can provide opportunities for healing of the victims for example by providing emotional and spiritual support, counseling and shelter. This would complement the efforts of hospitals, civil society organizations and the police. They can also provide sanctions and deterrent measures for perpetrators for example by holding them accountable for their deeds. The faith institutions can play a pro-active role through its preaching and teaching about the evil of Gender-Based violence, thereby setting standards for societal values that protect the well-being of women and children.

The write-up is based on Judy Waruhiu (FECCLAHA)’s presentation during the IFAPA Eastern Africa Women workshop in Nairobi. Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA) is one of IFAPA’s partners and gender-based violence is a shared concern within the two organizations and they both, in different ways, continue to sensitize the religious leadership to make use of the opportunities they have to address this vice which affects members of their constituencies. All over Africa gender-based violence remains a challenge and IFAPA is ready to work with willing partners to help curb the vice. Already some of the IFAPA network members such as Rev. Boissa and Mama Marie Francoise Lutala in DRC continue to take care of affected women and girls. The IFAPA Women Desk invites willing partners to work together on projects to address this challenge which is a big problem for women in Africa today.

In the traditional African setting, women were assigned various roles, chief among these was the role of child-care – giving birth and then caring for the young ones from cradle to responsible adulthood. Women therefore played the role of educators of the children and both boys and girls received responsible upbringing and socialization from the mothers. In this set-up, practical moral teachings were transmitted and both sons and daughters were taught proper behavior and ethos of society. Important values such as respect, honesty, uprightness, patience, self-control and compromise were all transmitted through the mother and thus women were the promoters of harmony in the community – building a culture of peace. Women were therefore peace-builders through positive child-care and through social capital transmission of values.

Women are peace-builders through positive child-care and through social capital transmission of values.
Apart from the important roles in child-care, women also provided for their families’ needs and participated in conflict mediation and conflict resolution within the family and often times some of the elderly women at community level.
Traditionally women’s roles in peace-building may not have been loud, but they were recognized and ever so often in conflict situations, women were asked to talk to their sons especially when all other approaches seemed to have failed. Often the women’s quiet diplomacy bore fruits and the community recognized this contribution. But in the modern times, women have to learn to speak up as they are often the forgotten voices yet they usually bear the brunt of any conflicts simply because they are women, or because they are daughters, mothers and wives. Due to the traditional culture of quiet diplomacy, many African women are still afraid to raise their voices for fear of victimization or isolation. Yet women voices need to be heard both at local and continental levels especially within the modern day challenges of water issues, health concerns, food insecurity, economic challenges, moral disintegration and other issues of concern which affects the wellness of the African continent.

Women voices need to be heard on local and continental issues
The modern African woman is faced with various challenges which are both economic and social. There are now problems associated with the disintegration of the traditional networks as women take on new roles and yet continue to be excluded from socio-economically viable positions in the society. Women have to constantly rise to the occasion and question this exclusion yet traditionally they played a crucial role which was recognized. It is a fact that if African countries are surviving economic crisis, it is largely due to the ingenuity of women who are fulfilling their roles as well as those of the men who are away or caught up conflict.
Women have innate qualities which in the modern days are not fully tapped in peace-building processes including conflict prevention and resolution and modern African countries can no longer afford to exclude women in peace processes. There is need to re- examine what roles women in the past played and build on them for both a better today and a better tomorrow.
Families in Africa are still the cornerstone of the communities and society in general. What can the modern women do to promote family values which are fast getting eroded? In launching A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa Campaign in the SADC region, there was a cry about moral degradation in the region and indeed this concern is shared by the rest of Africa, how can faith communities through IFAPA handle this challenge? The woman is the foundational pillar upon which all the family and community structures rely. She exercises power through motherly attributes. She is respected, feared, honored and admired and is an educator shaping character as she sacrifices for her children. She is the peace-builder in the home and the reconciler when things go wrong.
Peace in Africa needs to be tackled at all levels – home, school and community levels and in the social political set-up. IFAPA seeks to elevate the status of women by building on what they already posses through equipping them with leadership and other skills which enhance their intuitive skills in conflict prevention and emphasize their role as mentors to the younger women, the girls.
IFAPA lays emphasize on the kind of education (spiritual, religious and moral) that retains core African values, promotes religious diversity and teaches peace and respect for human rights, with priority given to girls and grass- root women. IFAPA also lays emphasis on documentation that highlights women’s contribution to peace-building and interfaith collaboration for peace in an empowering manner and not manipulatively.

Education (spiritual, religious and moral) that retains core African values, promotes religious diversity and teaches peace and respect for human rights
Gender mainstreaming is also core in IFAPA work and understanding the role of women in various religions and their teachings, raising awareness on women issues and concerns and emphasizing the need for men, women and youth to work as partners for peace are all enshrined in IFAPA mode of working.
IFAPA therefore is involved in carrying out continent-wide activities at all levels and especially at the grass-root level where the impact of any process is best seen and continues to work with like-minded partners in Africa and beyond Africa and depends entirely on voluntary funding and support from Governments, Civil society organizations and individuals worldwide.
The IFAPA women program builds on shared spiritual values which bind women of different faiths and enables them to work together and make a difference at the individual, communal as well as continental level and also seeks partnership with like- minded individuals and organizations in uplifting the status of women of Africa.

‘Conscience is an open wound, only the truth can heal it’ – Usman Danfodio

As the dust settled, the women in Jos across ethnic and religious divide fasted and prayed for three days and planned a protest march to register their condemnation of the wanton destruction of lives and property in their once peaceful city. They were prevented from carrying out their protest by the government. Those who could not be prevented were the Muslim women in Nigeria who converged in Abuja led by their umbrella organization, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, FOMWAN. One hundred and twenty of us went in to the National Assembly in Abuja to protest the genocide in Jos. We carried placards that read:

‘End the Genocide’, ‘The Guilty Must be Punished’ ‘Stop the killings and Destruction” Let peace Reign on the Plateau’ This is Man’s Inhumanity to Man’ ‘Indict Jang’ etc.

They echoed the demands of some civil society organizations on the crisis. They called on all Nigerian to embrace peace, respect one another and resist the manipulation of our lives by the politicians and the ruling class who use religious and ethnic sentiments to cover up their failure to provide good governance and guarantee the fundamental rights of all. Like most citizens, the women have lost faith in the government panels that are set up to investigate the causes of various crises and their numerous reports that are never implemented. The women and the Centre called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the mayhem and international investigation and action in the case. They also demanded that

• leaders should be held accountable for crisis that occur during their tenure

• the government should also investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killing over one thousand (1000) people during the violence

• the media must eschew partisanship and provide balanced and unbiased reports to avoid the escalation of the crisis

• government must compensate all the victims who lost their family members and properties as a result of the tragedy

• all the previous reports of inquiries set up to investigate the various crises be made public and those behind the violence should be prosecuted no matter how highly placed

• the government of Plateau state must realize that the discrimination against non-indigenes in its territory is a time-bomb that must not be allowed to explode again. It has responsibility to protect all the people living in the state, irrespective of their religious and ethnic group.
• the Federal government should ensure that its security forces exercise restraint and comply with international standards on the use of force in responding inter-communal violence.

The writer is a Nigerian Muslim and is an active member of the IFAPA Women network. The account is given as a way of sharing information and also as a way of showing what women working together can achieve. This is one of the things IFAPA Women’s Desk is working on – women of different faiths, women of different ethnic backgrounds bound together by common concerns and taking action to address these concerns. Help IFAPA achieve their aims through assisting the IFAPA Women Desk to support women of Africa in their efforts as there are many challenges along the way. We salute the women of Nigeria for voicing their concerns and ensuring that these concerns were heard – this is indeed something for others to learn from.

Coalition Against Jos Genocide –

By Hajiya Bilkisu (mni)

The Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) sent messages to members of its numerous affiliate groups inviting them to join the protest march on the genocide in Jos. At 10 o’clock when they were heading to the assembly there were only 120 women but an hour later when they were asked to enter the National Assembly building the number had swelled to one thousand and fifteen women! The senate was in session and none of the Committee rooms could accommodate them. The women came from various groups within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the neigbouring states of Plateau, Nassarawa, Kaduna and Kogi. Among them were Ansar-udeen Society, Women In Da’awah, Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness MICA, NASFAT Women’s Wing, Muslim Sisters Organisation MSO, Muslim students Association MSS. Muslim Corpers Association of Nigeria MCAN etc. They were led by the FOMWAN National Amirah (President) Hajiya Maryam Idris Othman and were received by the Senate President David Mark and his colleagues.

In a statement read by the Amirah, she told the Senators that ‘Muslim women condemn in strong terms the repeated violence against the citizens of this country and call on the Federal Government to enforce the freedom of citizens to reside in any part of Nigeria without fear of persecution as enshrined in the constitution’. The women also demanded as follows: That the perpetrators of the carnage be identified and punished, reports of panels established to investigate earlier crises should be made public and the recommendations made therein implemented, payment of compensation to those who lost their homes and property, the source of small arms and ammunition should be identified and inflow controlled, leaders such as governors who are the Chief Security Officers of their states should also be held responsible for actions that happen during their tenure. In his response, the Senate President commended the women for their

patience and orderliness. He assured them that their demands will be considered and action will be taken.

The FOMWAN led protest seemed to have galvanized the civil society organizations into action. Thirty five NGOs drawn nation -wide from human rights and pro democracy groups, gender and women’s rights organizations, concerned professional bodies, children’s rights promotion groups collaborated and issued a joint statement and a press release titled 35 Nigerian NGOs Call for ICC Investigations into Jos crisis.

IFAPA works with like-minded organizations and networks and the IFAPA Women’s Desk has been in contact with FOMWAN through Ms Bilkisu who is an active member of the IFAPA women network. The Nigerian women action provides clear evidence that faith-based African women are active participants in working for peace and in this undertaking, they are increasingly showing courage and leadership that go with the role. IFAPA encourages this and continues to work towards empowering women of Africa to address the ills that make Africa an unhealthy continent thus beyond the ‘cry’ in A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa Campaign, which rallies women of different faith communities together, women of Africa are taking action and need to be supported. IFAPA is providing this support albeit with constraints and would welcome all who are willing to be partners in empowering women of Africa to speak and be listened to and to take positive action in challenging situations such as the Nigeria case. Well done FOMWAN for being a positive example!

Kasese War Widows Network is based within Kasese district located in the far west of Uganda adjacent to the Rwenzori Mountain range on the eastern boarder with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The development of the area was severely hampered by the 1996-2002 insurgencies. This destroyed livelihood based on small holder farming and undermined access to information. During the insurgency period over 30,000 people were displaced and hundreds killed and effects of these are evident to this day. Gender based violence (GBV) is common in the district and although there is evidence of many cases of domestic violence, they go unreported due to culture, misrepresentation of religious teachings, and other institutional setups that impede and/or indirectly promote the vice.  Women and girl children are the main victims of these negative practices.

The situation is evidenced by over burdening of women with both domestic and farm chores (women form 70% of the un paid labor force in agriculture); wife battering, unhealthy and inadequate food intake for women due to unfavorable cultural practices, early marriages as girls are considered as a source of family income through bride price and gender-based violence which has been accepted as ‘normal.’

Whereas the religious institutions as well the judicial and support systems in Kasese district and the country as a whole, have structures and procedures of addressing Gender based violence, their performance is usually wanting. This is because these structures and personnel do not understand the intricacies and complexity of Gender-based violence and so they often dismiss reported cases as a private and personal to be addressed by the individuals involved.

“A gross lack of awareness and ignorance levels among perpetrators and victims exacerbates this problem. What is more challenging to respond to is the poor or total absence in some cases, of current and accurate data on prevalence and incidence rates, making it difficult to get a clear picture of the true nature of violence based on gender and its different forms and ramifications,” says Ms Teddy Kiswahili, the head of the project and a participant of the IFAPA East Africa Women capacity-building workshop. Ms Teddy has, since the IFAPA workshop in Nairobi, shared knowledge gained and is now spearheading a proposed project whose purpose is to empower communities in the most hit sub-counties within Kasese district to challenge the existing practices, beliefs, ideas and attitudes that promote Gender based violence and pursue alternatives of overcoming domestic violence while at the same time working for the protection and support of the victims to avoid further victimization.

The expected results of the project include: increased awareness and understanding of the rights of women, protection of the women and girls at risk of abuse within the community and abused women receiving adequate support services. The intended impact of this project is to have a safer community for women with all forms of domestic violence significantly reduced and women rights respected and promoted.

Tanzania
The Buddhist women of faith in Dar-es Salaam in Tanzania are working with orphans and other vulnerable children. They have rented a house in which they take care of these vulnerable members of society. The children are accommodated, given food and other basic needs and also from ages 6-12, supported to attend the nearby schools. The Buddhist women are a part of Tanzania Women Interfaith Network (TWIN) which is a movement were women of different faiths are giving assistance to women at the grass-root level especially on HIV/AIDS. The women have started ‘village banking’ to uplift widows and young girls who bear a lot of burdens as single mothers. These activities are all aimed at taking care of vulnerable members of society, reducing poverty and reducing discrimination on the basis of faith and gender. This is an on-going project and 2010 will see further expansion of this project which has been well received by the community.

Kenya
Witethie women group in Majimboni location of Kwale District is working on an environment and soil conservation project. The group was formed on 16th November 2005 and is composed of twenty women from both the Muslim and Christian faith communities.

The objectives of the group are: -To care for and conserve for the environment, support one another in uplifting the welfare of members and their families and learn from each other as group members through adopting new technology e.g. in farming.

So far the group has been able to improve their food production by using farmyard manure; worked on the prevention of soil erosion by soil conservation techniques including planting trees and bananas, improving welfare of members and their families through merry-go-round ( a concept where group members put resources together and assist one another in turns).

The current plans of the group center around reducing poverty levels by forming sub-groups of five members to work together on the environment and agricultural projects and report back to the main group on monthly basis. Given water challenges in the area, the group members have also devised a way of accessing clean water by buying water tanks for each member by contributing a certain amount of money every month. This will ensure that each member is able to harvest rainwater for future use during the dry season. This, however, is a challenge as, owing to the cost of each tank and the amount of money each member is able to give, it will take long to cover all group members. The future plan is to work on a sustainable plan for accessing clean water because with the water, group members could plant and consume healthy food as well as generate some income through sale of farm produce and keeping of poultry. The group could also care better for the environment by having tree nurseries and planting trees and practice better time management through reduced distances to clean water.
IFAPA sees great potential in supporting the women projects as they are all aimed at empowering the women and improving the standard of living for the women, children and the community in general given the nurturing role assigned to the women of Africa. All these women come from different faith communities but are bound together by their common challenges as women and challenges they face in the localities.
IFAPA partners and is happy to work with like-minded organizations and individuals and any support to the on-going projects as well as the planned projects is welcome as it will directly benefit the woman at the grass-root level where the impact of all peace-building, development and other efforts is best seen.

The involvement of women in the IFAPA process is captured under A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa Campaign which was adopted at the ‘mothers and daughters’ of Africa Pre-Summit that preceded the second IFAPA Peace Summit in Benoni in South Africa in 2005. The Campaign highlights the challenges faced on the continent of Africa and also the role of women in helping to bring about peace in Africa amidst these challenges. The Campaign also seeks to give opportunities to women to speak and also be heard and participate in making decisions that affect the continent as they are key stakeholders in matters facing the continent. The campaign is about Africa and strives to touch each of Africa’s five sub-regions. The word ‘healthy’ is used in the holistic sense of the word, beyond mere disease, rather wellness.

A healthy Africa is therefore an Africa that is spiritual and free from conflict and preventable diseases, an Africa in which the children and youth that have been given to us are cherished and not abused or neglected, an Africa in which women and men are acknowledged as equals, and in which women are not subjected to violence in war and in all aspects of life, an Africa for all Africans regardless of gender, tribe, nationality or religion.

A Mother’s Cry Campaign recognizes that men and women are perpetrators and victims of violent conflicts and wars, re-affirms that women are the cornerstone of social harmonization and integration of African societies and cannot be excluded from peace and security in Africa, underscores that spirituality and peace cannot be separated and that the values of diverse religions in Africa are essential to peace-building, believes that the intervention of inter-faith women in peace-building introduces a dimension that helps lead to comprehensive and sustainable peace in Africa.

In the launch of A Mother’s Cry Campaign in the SADC, IFAPA brought together women from all walks of life within the region to voice their concerns about issues affecting women in the region – issues of concern were presented by women from Mozambique, Zambia, Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. Even for the countries not represented due to various factors or those which were represented by their brothers such as Mauritius and DRC or the ones not present such as Madagascar, Angola and Malawi, it was observed that the concerns are similar – deterioration of morals values, insecurity, gender-based violence, human trafficking, limited opportunities for women as among the challenges facing women of Africa today. Peculiarities of each country do exist but the challenges are very similar and all require joint action and good will from all sectors of society.

The theme of the Summit ‘Envisioning a Peaceful Africa: Water for All’ was very appropriate for the women of Africa. Water for drinking, sanitation and domestic use, water for health, water for agriculture, for economic empowerment of the woman – these are but some of the factors that draw women close to the subject of water. As the IFAPA Third Summit discussed this important subject, the relationship between African women and water was taken into consideration and acknowledged . Women in most African communities have traditionally taken the leading role in the provision of water for the family and the community. This role has too often had the negative consequence of preventing women from undertaking education, employment and leisure opportunities, due to the time required for water collection (especially as water sources become fewer and further between). Women’s involvement in community water management structures is nonetheless seen to be a necessity in the African context. Indeed, it is impossible to discuss water management at the local and national levels in Africa without the involvement of women.

Within the IFAPA Campaign A Mother’s Cry for a Healthy Africa, development issues – including access to safe drinking water – feature strongly. Inter-faith women’s roles in water source infrastructure and management can clearly be foreseen in the context of this campaign.

The Summit provided space for the women of the SADC sub-region to define what constitutes their ‘cry’ and to talk peace in this region which has many social, development, economic, trade, education, health, diplomatic, defense, security and political challenges. Some of these challenges cannot be tackled effectively by individual members thus the formation of SADC and some of the planned actions after the Summit would need to be tackled across borders. The region also has positive examples of hope and the host Botswana, remains one of Africa’s stable countries, relatively free of corruption and with a good human rights record. In Botswana too women empowerment has taken root. It was therefore befitting that the Summit and indeed the launch of the Mother’s Cry Campaign was held in this peaceful country.

Though the Campaign was already launched at continental level in 2005, it has not reached the grass-root woman nor the various policy makers in the various sub-regions of Africa who need to help respond to the Cry and help make Africa a better place. The launch in Southern Africa sub-region is the second one at the sub-regional level, the first one having taken place in Eastern Africa in June 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya. Some of the participants in that launch were also able to participate in the SADC launch and there are plans to carry out the same in the other sub-regions (West Africa, Central and North Africa) and some of the representatives of those sub-regions were also present in Gaborone during the SADC launch.

It is expected that what was shared in the Summit and in the Mother’s Cry event all formed a platform for further action. The women, men, religious leaders, business community and political sector representatives present at the Summit symbolized the need for all to work together. The women who participated in the Summit and in the launch did gain the synergy to take up responsibility to initiate and strengthen peace and other efforts in their countries. The involvement of the political, civil society, business and religious sectors highlights the fact that everyone is a stakeholder in peace and development and water remains at the centre of all well-being – of the individual person, of the community and even of the continent and is a common issue bringing all together regardless of the gender, faith and other lines of divide.

The Summit and the launch of the Mother’s Cry Campaign was therefore a platform for further action in the individual countries and in the region as a whole.

(Letter PDF attached.)

IFAPA Third Summit
Envisioning a Peaceful Africa: Water For All
17-21 November 2009, Gaborone, Botswana

We, participants in the Third Summit of Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa (IFAPA) coming from African Traditional Religion, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities, together with representatives of governments of the region and the private sector, gathered in Gaborone, Botswana, from 17 to 21 November 2009 under the theme “Envisioning a Peaceful Africa: Water For All”. In our diversity we represent the multi-faith reality of Africa today. In meeting together we have demonstrated our commitment to the principle of freedom of religion and belief for all.

We express our sincere gratitude to members of the Botswana Chapter of IFAPA – which was launched during the Summit – and to the religious communities, government and people of Botswana for their generous hospitality and commitment to inter-faith cooperation for peace and development in Africa. We also express our gratitude to all partners who by their contributions – financial or in kind – made our meeting possible.

Meeting in Botswana, we were inspired and motivated by the example this country provides of peace and stability, well-functioning democratic processes and institutions, good governance and transparency, and effective management of budgets in order to achieve the intended purposes. We pay tribute to the people and government of Botswana for these signal achievements, showing the way for many other countries in Africa.

The special characteristic of this Third IFAPA Summit was the full integration of private sector and government representatives alongside religious community representatives in the Summit’s deliberations and outcome. We believe that only a full partnership between these sectors – government, private enterprise and religious and civil society – can effectively respond to the challenges confronting Africa. We believe that in this Summit we have taken an important step towards establishing such a partnership.

Envisioning a Peaceful Africa

In our deliberations we have been guided by the commitments previously made under the auspices of IFAPA, especially the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Action (adopted by the First Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa, held in Johannesburg, 14-19 October 2002) and the Kopanong Manifesto (adopted by the Second Inter-Faith Peace Summit, Johannesburg, 21-25 April 2005). We have recalled what has been achieved in fulfillment of those commitments, and recognized what has still not been achieved.

Conflict and instability continue to beset this continent. In the current context we think especially of the situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Madagascar, Somalia, Sudan, northern Uganda, and Zimbabwe, and of the people affected by conflict and its lingering consequences.

We also think of the pervasive violence and other threats that disrupt family life throughout the region, in the forms of domestic violence, the neglect and abuse of children, physical and economic oppression of women, poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, HIV-AIDS and other threats to health and wellbeing. Peace and security in the family is the foundation of peace and security in the community, in the nation and in the region.

Addressing each of these situations and issues requires cooperation between religious/civil society, governments and the private sector. Such cooperation assumes an agreed shared set of values, as a basis for collaboration between these three sectors on the challenges of peace and development in Africa. We believe that IFAPA has provided us with a framework in which these shared values can begin to be articulated…

Water For All

Water is the source of all life on Earth, and all human and community life is dependent on it. During this Summit we have shared perspectives on water and its significance in our respective faith traditions, and have concluded that though our religions relate to water in diverse ways, water is central to most of our traditions, and we all give a special value to water as a God-given resource essential for life. Though water is a gift from God for all, it is a finite and precious resource. Accordingly we reject selfish over-consumption, wastage or contamination of water, depriving others of this essential resource for life, as being against our principles of faith and ethics.

The provision of water has a cost. But given the necessity of water for sustaining human life and communities, we consider access to at least the basic requirements of water for drinking and sanitation purposes to be an inalienable human right, to be assured unconditionally by every government to all people in its jurisdiction, and not only to those who can afford the cost of its provision.

This right also entails a responsibility on the part of every human being to use this precious resource carefully, with due regard to the needs of others, not to waste or contaminate water, and to protect its natural sources.

We met in Botswana, a semi-arid country known for its diamond wealth. But we heard from the Hon. P. H. Kedikilwe, Minister for Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, that “Water is more important than diamonds”. We were also struck by the fact that ‘pula’ – the name of Botswana’s national currency – means ‘rain’, indicating the fundamental value that Botswana ascribes to this precious resource. But ‘pula’ also means ‘peace’, providing an elegant linguistic link between water, wellbeing and peace.

The lack of water is the very essence of poverty. None of the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved without water. Especially in Africa, the lack of rain or other sources of water means the loss of crops, threatening the subsistence agriculture on which the vast majority of Africa’s people depend. The lack of safe water for drinking and adequate water for sanitation is a direct threat to the right to life. We learned during this Summit that the lack of safe water for drinking and adequate water for sanitation top the list of global killers, claiming 5,000 lives a day, and that each year 1.8 million children die from waterborne diseases. In addition, 440 million school days are lost due to water-related illness, threatening education goals and entrenching poverty.

We also heard that women and children in Africa walk approximately 10 kilometres to fetch water, exposing them to additional risks of injury, violence and disease, and seriously reducing their access to educational and employment opportunities.

In many societies in Africa, water is at the core of women’s traditional responsibilities. And the lack of water has disproportionately grave consequences for women and girls.

We learned that the process of climate change, accelerated by greenhouse gas emissions, is already deepening the water crisis in Africa. In the next decades any millions more people are likely to be exposed to water stress, rain-fed and subsistence agriculture is likely to be reduced, and arid and semi-arid areas will increase significantly.

These changes are already leading to population shifts, as people and communities move to escape the worst hit areas. The increasing flows of such ‘climate change refugees’, together with increased competition for and tensions over access to diminishing water resources, are likely to pose serious additional challenges to peace and security in the region.

In order to reduce the risk of such additional pressures leading to new conflicts, regional cooperation within Africa will be increasingly necessary. Improved regional and sub-regional cooperation will also be necessary to reduce the amount of water wasted through lack of cross-border management of key water resources. Mismanagement of such water resources, has already contributed to the disappearance of rivers and lakes in the context of our warming and drying climate. To ensure water – and peace – for all, governments should cooperate regionally and internationally for effective water resource management and sharing. During the Summit, we considered existing models such as the Zambezi River Authority and the Nile River Initiative, which may provide us with experience for future cooperation in the management and sharing of our precious and irreplaceable water resources.

We believe that agreement on a strategic approach to the usage and management of water resources in Africa, integrating religious, government, and business perspectives, is essential if challenges of the dimensions we are confronting are to be adequately addressed. We ask IFAPA to continue to take a lead in convening forums for discussion and action by these stakeholders on the issue of water and its implications for peace and development in Africa. We recommend that IFAPA declare and promote an annual African Inter-Faith Water Day, as a means of drawing attention to this issue in our respective communities, and providing a point of encounter for all relevant actors for reflection and recommitment to cooperation in responding to the water crisis in our countries and continent.

We make the following specific recommendations to the various categories of actors, while at the same time stressing again the need for collaboration and synergy in all our responses:

Local communities and leaders  (including local religious leaders and traditional chiefs) / civil society should:

• Take responsibility for monitoring and documenting changes in the local environment and water sources, including the impact of government initiatives with regard to water resource and environmental protection.
• Protect existing forest areas, and undertake reforestation of areas from which the trees have been cut.
• Promote rainwater harvesting.
• Promote improved agricultural practices.
• Re-examine their own practices against the principles of environmental protection and sustainability
• Equip themselves with the necessary training and skills for water source maintenance and environmental protection.
• Undertake local fundraising initiatives for water resource management and maintenance.

Religious leaders  should:

• Raise the voices of the voiceless, continuously remind governments and local authorities about their duties and responsibilities to their citizens, to human dignity and rights, to environmental protection and sustainable development.
• Examine ways in which their moral leadership can strengthen advocacy for appropriate government policies and initiatives, including the establishment of budgets that recognize the importance of water and the environment.
• Educate people about the sacred value of water as a gift from God, and raise public awareness at local, national and regional levels about the issues, challenges and possible responses.

Governments and local authorities  should:

• Make clear commitments with regard to water resource and environmental protection.
• Establish Ministries of water and the environment – where they do not already exist – and provide such ministries with resources adequate to the task.
• Ensure that they have good and comprehensive water policy and legislative frameworks, covering conservation, sustainability, infrastructure development, privatization and industrial water use, and following the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management.
• Undertake mapping of water resources, and assessment of current water distribution patterns.
• Develop sound planning and water resource management strategies, including where relevant through regional and sub-regional cooperative frameworks and the harmonization of regulatory frameworks between jurisdictions.
• Invest in water conservation and provision, and provide for appropriate monitoring and evaluation of initiatives in this area
• Focus on water services for rural as well as urban communities.
• Ensure that school curricula include education on water, conservation and environment.

National inter-religious bodies  should:

• Help deepen shared spiritual understandings of the value of water, calling for prayer, and promoting changed behaviour on the basis of fundamental moral, ethical and religious principles.
• Provide platforms for conflict resolution concerning access to water resources.
• Through cooperation between religious communities on this issue, promote unity and set an example for African governments.

IFAPA  should:

• Continue to facilitate engagement and collaboration between African religious communities and African governments, regional organizations, the international community and the private sector on matters of water, peace and development in Africa.

Private sector entities  (national and international) should:

• Take all possible measures to reduce and eliminate water source pollution from industrial production or extractive processes.
• Engage with local communities in order to plan investments and activities in such a way as to preserve water and other natural environmental resources, and to monitor the impact of such investments and activities.
• Focus their community development/corporate social responsibility programs on water conservation and access and sanitation initiatives.

The African Union should:

• Consider establishing a pan-African water resource protection and management authority.

The international community should:

• Urgently establish a fair and equitable, legally-binding and effective agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, in order to achieve the necessary emissions reductions – primarily in the major industrialized nations – in order to prevent catastrophic climate change.
• Provide necessary financing for water resource protection and infrastructure and other development needs, and relevant technology transfers, in order to respond to the deepening water crisis in Africa.

Mothers’ Cry for a Healthy Africa

Faced with the many challenges described, and noting the special impacts on women and girls in the African context, we reaffirm our commitment to the Mothers’ Cry for a Healthy Africa campaign, and welcome the launch of this campaign in the SADC region which took place during this Summit. We believe that it is through the eyes, experiences and voices of African women that we can best understand and respond to the interlinked challenges of seeking peace and promoting development in this region.

IFAPA Botswana Chapter

We also welcome the establishment and launch of the IFAPA Botswana Chapter, which encourages all of us in the ongoing search for peace and development throughout the continent, and for all of Africa’s daughters and sons.

Done at Gaborone, 20 November 2009

Message from the President

A peaceful Africa is not just a far fetched dream but a real possibility. We already have a few examples of countries in Africa where this is the case. However, the realization of a peaceful Africa will entirely depend on how serious the Africans are committed to peace and willing to take practical steps towards this goal.

IFAPA believes that the time is now for Africa to stand on its own feet and renew itself; that the roadmap to a peaceful Africa requires that all stakeholders engage in action oriented dialogue;  that religious communities, governments, private sector and civil society create a partnership based on shared values. Let a  peaceful Africa be a New Africa, where the beliefs and traditions of others are mutually respected; where nations and peoples live in peace not in conflict; where wasteful competition is reduced; where the principle of good neighborliness is upheld; where gender equality and the right to live a decent life are promoted. Yes, a peaceful Africa is possible but lets not forget that peace cannot be imported from outside. We need indigenous soil and indigenous seeds for a New Africa.

President of IFAPA, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko

November 2009

IFAPA Summit was a determined gathering of seven faith traditions of Africa.

IFAPA third Summit calls for justice for Africa as an essential outcome of United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place Dec. 7 – 18 in Copenhagen, with commitments to funding for essential climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the continent. “Not as a matter of charity, but as an ethical response to the damage already sustained and still to be suffered by Africa’s people and environment due to the profligacy of others”, stated the Summit held in Nov. 17 -21 in Botswana.

As representatives of religious communities (African Traditional Religion, Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim), governments and the private sector from across the continent of Africa, meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, under the theme Envisioning a Peaceful Africa: Water For All, IFAPA reflected on the ways in which climate change is deepening the water crisis in Africa.

In the statement on the climate change of IFAPA Summit expresses:

We shared perspectives on the different ways in which our various faith traditions all value water. We lamented the death of rivers and lakes, the increasing aridity, advancing deserts, and extreme and destructive weather events that we observe already now in many parts of this continent, and the disruption of seasonal weather patterns that have shaped agricultural practices for centuries. We heard with alarm the predictions that, as a result of climate change:
Between 75 and 250 million people will be exposed to increased water stress by 2020.
By 2020, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% in some countries. Agricultural production and food security is likely to be severely compromised in many African countries.
Arid and semi-arid areas are expected to increase by 5%-8% by 2080.
We see all too clearly how the consequences of climate change compound the realities of food insecurity and poverty in Africa. Climate change threatens to greatly increase the lethal impact of poverty and disease in Africa. We also perceive that these changes will increase competition for diminishing water resources, and will force increasing numbers of people, communities and animals to become ‘climate change refugees’, posing additional serious challenges to peace and security in the region.

Climate change and its impacts is an issue of justice. Africa and its peoples, who have contributed least to the emissions accelerating these global climatic processes, are suffering its worst effects. It is also an issue of basic human rights, as it impinges on the rights to life and an adequate standard of living for millions of people, and a gender issue, as it impacts women disproportionately. And ultimately it is a failure of our ethical, moral and religious duties, resulting from the systemic greed which has led to the inequitable concentration of the world’s God-given resources and wealth in the hands of a few, and the unsustainable lifestyles of rich elites and developed countries. It is our indifference to the plight of other people and other species, and our continuing exploitation and destruction of creation, that has led to this crisis.

There is much that we and our communities and nations can and must do to reduce and adapt to the expected impacts of climate change, including through protection of existing forests and reforestation of other areas, rainwater harvesting, crop diversification and other agricultural extension initiatives, and public awareness-raising at all levels. We have committed ourselves to pursuing these and other relevant initiatives.

But the fact remains that Africa is least equipped technically, financially, and institutionally to deal with climate-related risks and disasters. Africa’s vulnerability is increased because its agriculture depends mainly on rainfall. Subsistence farming, which is the main source of Africa’s food, is being threatened by climate change and global economic systems.

Therefore, with the voices of the faith communities, the desperate poor, and the future generations of Africa, we call urgently upon all governments that will meet in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference to reach an agreement on climate change which is legally-binding, effective, and founded upon the fundamental principle of justice.
We call especially upon African governments to speak with one undivided voice in Copenhagen; a strong voice that is not weakened by petty politics, competition and corruption, but which expresses the shared suffering of Africa’s peoples, the plight of Africa’s most vulnerable and marginalized, and the needs of future generations of Africa’s children and the commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
We urge all African religious leaders and communities to hold their governments accountable to this responsibility.

We call for justice for Africa as an essential outcome of the Copenhagen conference, with commitments to funding for essential climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in this continent, not as a matter of charity, but as an ethical response to the damage already sustained and still to be suffered by Africa’s people and environment due to the profligacy of others.

We invite all partners and all people of goodwill around the world to join us in this call for justice.