By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The Global Peace Foundation Nigeria( GPFN), in partnership with Bethel Candle of Hope for the Vulnerable, has selected the Hayin Banki community in Kaduna North Local Government Area, where it would begin building resilience among the people for peace through interfaith dialogue project.
Rev Joseph John Hayab, Country Director Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, said the essence is to help people begin to see themselves as members of one family and find solutions together.
Speaking at the Kawo District Head’s office Kaduna, where officials of the foundation met with the community and religious leaders, youth and women representatives to intimate them on the project, Rev Hayab explained that the choice of Hayin Banki Community for the project was informed by the already cordial and harmonious relationship that exist among the people of the community.
“Hayin Banki is a mix of Muslims and Christians. In fact in this community, where you can have a large number of Muslims and Christians living together is Hayin Banki. So our thinking is to work with them for 6 months possibly 8 months , on how we can build capacity, come up with structures for peace.”
“The mistake we’ve always been doing in the past was that we don’t put these structures in place until when there is violence. What we want to do now is to begin to put structures in communities that would help mitigate any form of violence.Before the violence comes, they would address it.”
“We visited the District Head today, we invited community leaders, religious leaders, women, youth to come and express their love for this programme .They have shown they’re willing for us to work together. So beginning first week of May, we would move our staff here,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Simon Usman of the Bethel Candle of Hope for the Vulnerable, was optimistic that together with the GPFN, they would embark on project that would provide hope to the needy and other underprivileged members of the community.
Earlier, the Northern Coordinator of the GPFN, Sheikh Abdullahi Haliru Maraya, said the foundation has as it primary focus, to bring together in peace all human beings as one family under God,regardless of race, religion and ethnicity.
He said the GPFN with Headquarters in Washington DC, USA is building a global network of grassroots leaders to develop community, national and regional peace- building models as the foundation for ethical,cohesive and compassionate societies guided by the vision of one family under God.
Maraya described Hayin Banki Community as a model of peace where Muslims and Christians live in harmony, saying the building of bridges among faith, traditional leaders,women, youth and the entire community is what they came to reinforce by expanding trust among community members.
Christian and Muslim leaders ,women and youth leaders at the occasion, expressed gratitude to the Foundation and pledged their cooperation for the success of the project.
The Village Head of Hayin Banki, Alhaji Mahmud Shehu Galadima, assured the foundation of their cooperation for the success of the project and reiterated that the community is home for all peace initiatives that would further unite the diverse people in Hayin Banki.
In his remarks, the District Head of Kawo, Alhaji Jibril Mohammed Magaji appreciated the foundation for choosing a community in his district for the project and harped on the essence of peace which is vital for development.
