With support from the UN Peace-building Fund through the UNDP, Women’s Forum-Sierra Leone (WF-SL) on 4th August, 2023 at the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Hall, Mena Hills in Makeni, organised the training of Women Group Leaders in Karene, Kono and Bombali Districts.
The training is part of the Repositioning Women Focused CSOs for Sustainable Peace in Sierra Leone. Participants included Market Women, Women-Led Organisations and Mamie Queens.
During the training, participants were admonished to ensure that they serve as mediators in preaching peace, prevention, resolving and managing conflicts and non-violence in their respective communities. Various speakers who represented their institutions in the training emphasised the impact of conflicts on women and children and also stressed how it can be managed so it doesn’t escalate into violence.
The facilitator, Dr. Francis Sowa, dilated on the topic “Conflict Prevention, Mitigation and Non-Violence” for the women to not only understand what conflict is about but also its root causes and impacts in addition to enlightening them on how they can manage and resolve conflicts whenever they arise in their communities.
Negotiations, according to him, is one way to resolve conflicts and that both parties should agree on the terms and conditions of the negotiations disclosing that another way of resolving conflicts is the role of a mediator who has to be neutral, trustworthy, respectful, objective, upright and an opinion leader of high standard.
