Peace building: Parents have a role to play

THE director of the Centre for Conflict Management (CCM) at the National University of Rwanda, Prof. Paul Rutayisire, has challenged parents to effectively engage in educating their children on the importance of peace in their communities.He made the remarks during the closing of a three-day student’s peace conference that brought students from three East African countries including Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.He said that this will enable the young generation to engage or contribute to efforts of creating peace. Rutayisira says that according a recent research carried out by his centre, parents are not doing enough in promoting peace in their families and communities.“Parents are tending to be so busy, and actually they are not giving time to children yet, among other things, they also have the role to play in educating or ensuring that children are brought up knowing the need to have peaceful communities,” Rutayisire said.The conference was organised by World Vision Rwanda. It attracted over 20 secondary school students, and aimed at educating the young generation so that they actively contribute towards building peaceful communities.Participants were expected to use the information or knowledge acquired to build or become peace builders in their respective schools and communities.Rutayisire said that although children or the young generation have the responsibility to create peace as future leaders, they have to be directed by their elders.He observed that what parents tell their children and what they themselves observe in their families play a great role in contributing towards what they can also be or engage in. “With the current conflicts in some families, it will be an obvious case that the children will be violent just like their family members,” he said. A recent survey commissioned by the government through the annual month-long Family Campaign, indicated that at least 247,000 families countrywide are embroiled in different types of conflicts that risk breaking them up. The professor said such conflicts have serious negative effects not only to the upbringing of children, but also on the children’s future interests and knowledge to contribute towards peace in their homes, schools and communities.Speaking on behalf of World Vision Rwanda, George Wamushiyi, said that there is need to support children to utilize their potential in achieving their dreams as far as creating a peaceful environment and country is concerned. Alfred Karekezi, Director General at the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, said that the government has come up with various programmes that aim at involving parents in building peaceful families. In addition to the Family Campaign, he said that there are gender monitoring officers in charge of ensuring harmony in families, something he said has effectively contributed to fighting gender-based violence in families.