[HWPL] Burundi, suffering from civil war,

finds hope through peace education...

"Let's raise messengers of peace"

▎ 4 schools, HWPL MOU, 6 peace teachers, conducting 66 cumulative classes

Peace education is one of HWPL's major projects, and it is an educational project based on the recognition that it is important to awaken the value of peace in order to pass peace on as a legacy to future generations. HWPL develops peace education courses, trains teachers, and opens peace classes to foster peaceful citizens. Peace education being implemented all over the world shows the realization of Article 10, 'Spreading Peace Culture', out of the 10 articles of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW).

In particular, educational institutions in countries and regions suffering from long-term wars and civil wars are more actively supporting and applauding HWPL's peace education that teaches practical peace than anyone else. HWPL peace education is also actively being carried out in Burundi, a country in eastern Africa. Above all, HWPL's peace education is urgently needed in Burundi, where civil wars and conflicts are frequent.

High-ranking Burundian officials have also visited Korea to attend HWPL events. Domitien Ndayizeye, former President of Burundi attended the 4th anniversary of 918 Peace Summit hosted by HWPL on September 19, 2018. He said, “We must work together to find a way to stop war. I ask all countries in the UN to support HWPL.”

◆ Local peace educators have high trust in HWPL

After the 5th anniversary of the Peace Summit in Burundi on September 7, 2019, four schools in Burundi (Angels’ School, Rehoboth Middle School, Cashi Public Middle School, and Le Dauphin School) signed an MOU with HWPL. Since then, these schools have conducted pilot education once a week based on peace education textbooks, and six peace teachers have been appointed. In the meantime, cumulative HWPL peace education has been conducted 66 times, including 15 times at Angels’ School, 12 times at Cashi Public Middle School, 26 times at Le Dauphin School and 13 times at Rehoboth Middle School.

In Burundi, there is a person who actively participates in peace education by cooperating with HWPL. That person is Hatungimana Lievain, a teacher at Cashi Public Middle School. Teacher Lievain played a decisive role in the signing of MOUs between Cashi Public Middle School and Rehoboth Middle School with HWPL in 2020.

He happened to participate in HWPL peace education by chance. In 2019, he was talking to a local pastor, Alois, and on his way home from church, he met a man on the street. The man said he had missed the bus, and a group of Lievain teachers, who happened to be going the same way, decided to take him home. On the way home, the man told that he was from the Democratic Republic of Congo and that was why he had fled to Burundi. He talked about the divided Korean Peninsula and introduced HWPL and Chairman Man Hee Lee.

After hearing this, Teacher Lievain became interested in HWPL and asked Alois for contact information, and began communicating with the person in charge of peace education at HWPL. Since then, Teacher Lievain has been actively participating in HWPL’s peace education, and has played a role in teaching peace not only in schools but also in the local community.

Teacher Lievain said, “Everyone is weak and imperfect. HWPL peace education teaches us how to understand others and forgive each other. I will work with HWPL with the goal of changing this world into a world of peace that can be passed down to future generations.”

Teacher Lievain also had great confidence in HWPL. He most sympathized with the way HWPL officials humbly communicated with him and other peace educators, and he expected that HWPL would eventually work in every country around the world.

Teacher Lievain defined the word ‘peace’ as 'harmonious relationships with others, and the cessation of conflicts between races.' He suggested that in order to achieve sustainable peace through HWPL, everyone must fundamentally learn to let go of greed and forgive each other. He also emphasized that all citizens of the world must actively participate in peace.

◆ Students, growing rapidly as messengers of peace

Burundi is a country located east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It came under Belgian rule during World War I and became a League of Nations trust territory under Belgian rule in 1923 as Rwanda-Urundi. After that, it became a United Nations trust territory from 1946 and in 1962, it separated from Rwanda and became independent as Burundi.

Burundi, with a population of about 13.23 million, is mostly made up of a half-throwing Hutu, with the Tutsi and the Pygmy Twas. The Tutsi dominate the majority Hutu, causing a country with severe ethnic conflict. In Burundi, where conflicts and confrontations are frequent, 'HWPL Peace Education' is having a great impact on nurturing students who will lead the future as messengers of peace.

On January 6th of this year, at the Le Dauphin School, in the Peace Textbook 1 <The Original Form of All Things in Heaven and Earth> Subtopic 3 ‘Cooperation and Coexistence’ class, student Belaka said, “I realized that we can create a better world through cooperation.” Teacher Frederick, who taught the class, emphasized, “It was a time for the students to realize the value of creating synergy through cooperation and the value of ‘togetherness’ through various activities and examples.”

After the 3rd Peace Education Lesson <The Reason Why World Peace Was Broken> class held on February 3rd last year, students shared the realization that love is necessary to create a peaceful world.

Student Samuela said, “I came to believe that love encompasses everything and ultimately plays a decisive role in creating a peaceful world.” Student Lavita also shared her thoughts about the class, saying, “From the story of the two brothers, I realized that the lack of love and respect between each other is what destroys peace.”

Teacher Frederick focused on teaching students that peace cannot be achieved without love by telling anecdotes. He said, “I taught them that peace cannot be achieved without love by focusing on anecdotes in the textbook. The students understood the situation well and actively participated in class.”

After the Peace Education Lesson 2 class <The Reason Why All Things in Heaven and Earth Are in Harmony> held on February 25th last year, student Samuela said, “Through peace education, I realized that everyone’s life is valuable and cannot be replaced by anything.” Regarding this, teacher Frederick explained, “The stories in the textbook helped students understand the key of the class.”

In the 3rd Peace Education class, <The Reason Why World Peace Was Broken>, held on May 27th last year, students realized that selfishness and greed lead to war.

A student Dan shared his insight after class, saying, “I realized that selfishness is the main cause of war, and I must remember what I learned today so that there will be no more wars.”

The teacher said, “Selfishness and greed cause endless conflict and war. If these aspects are not addressed in our society, peace will not be achieved. This was an educational lesson that the students absolutely needed.”

Reference : https://bit.ly/3IdNwAs