Peace and Collaborative Development Network

Building Bridges, Networks and Expertise Across Sectors

Benita
  • 25, Female
  • Kampala
  • Uganda
  • Personnel Assistant
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" Be the change you hope to see in the World"

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What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?
being exposed to the people that have been affected in my home country Uganda and working with them effectively..
Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)
I am 24 year old female with a zeal to be apart of the team that makes the world a better place for people especially those in conflict affected areas.
Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise
Uganda
What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?
Uganda
What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?
Personnel Assistant
Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?
Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Relief, Organizational Development
Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?
Advocacy, Intervention

Benita's Blog

Benita

Time to move

I have always been interested in Peace and Conflict ever since i can remember. I was always interested in watching movies that involved peace makers atleast those that had to do with negotiating or resolving conflict. It was not unfortunate but here i am doing Human Resources which isnt bad since i have gotten good experience but i feel like there is more that i can do and i am going to do it.

I have decided to Volunteer probably will start January 2008 with any NGO that i can get thats has a P… Continue

Posted on November 11, 2008 at 3:05am — 1 Comment

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At 2:29pm on February 3, 2009, Joseph Anthony Migliore said…
Hi sweetie,

How have you been?

Best Wishes,
At 10:14am on January 15, 2009, Sie.Kathieravealu said…
In Sri Lanka, the trouble started due to discrimination and injustice and continues due to bribery and corruption. These may be the reasons for troubles in other countries too.

Current wars have to be ended and new wars have to be prevented. To achieve this goal the present system of Democratic Governance has to be changed to one that is really democratic in its true sense.

In the present democratic system it is only the powerful - speech, money and thuggery - can join the ruling class to suppress or convert others all others as their subjects and is a fertile ground for "corruption" in various forms to thrive.

In my opinion "Corruption" includes any kind of waste, neglect and every form of malpractice, dishonesty, abuse, misuse, unreasonable exercise of power, failure or refusal to exercise power, anything and everything left undone which results in the right of the people being denied or impaired.

Without a "just society" in existence much talked about "terrorism" cannot be eradicated. For the creation of a "just society" there should be "good governance" in the country. For the creation of "good governance" in the country "corruption" in ALL its forms must be eradicated. And to eradicate "corruption" the present democratic system of governance, where full power to make final decisions ultimately rests in the hands of one person, must be changed.

So the only way to salvage a country is to change the present system of governance to one that is truly democratic where the final decision-making power will NOT be in the hands of ONE person BUT shared by as many people as possible and thus restricting any individual hasty decisions that might lead to trouble everywhere.

To make a country truly democratic, the powers of the Parliament (the decision making supreme body of a country) should be split and separated and each of the separated powers must be handled by different groups of persons selected and elected by the people for the purpose of administering EACH SET OF POWERS or duties as the case may be so that no single group has the full power. All the groups together will make the whole. The country is not divided but the powers of parliament are divided/separated.

Different groups have to be elected for such purposes as administration, fiscal management, planning, implementing, policy and law making, auditing and for any other function that may be deemed necessary.

The group that is entrusted with the power to make laws and regulations shall not be given the duty/power of implementing/administering the laws and regulations.

Particular care should be taken to see that all powers are NOT CONCENTRATED in one place and that they do not overlap and there must not be a secret budget to be handled by a single person.

All transactions should be transparent including Diplomacy which has to be diplomatically transparent.

One set of powers dealing with the development of the country should be given to the set of representatives at the village level. The people of each and every village must be empowered to determine their way of life (lifestyle). The life-style of a village, its lands and resources shall not be disturbed by external forces.

All plans of development of a village that remotely/indirectly affects the village must have the concurrence of the people of that village concerned.

It has to be ensured that people are treated equitably regardless of their gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origins, age, disability, socio-economic background, religious or political beliefs and affiliations, marital status, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or other inappropriate distinction;

The decision-making powers with regard to each and every set of powers must be spread through-out the country.

With such system in practice discrimination, injustice, bribery and corruption, the four pillars of an Evil society might become history.

When the above four pillars of Evil are eradicated, the people would be living under a system that would guarantee sustainable peace, prosperity and a pleasant living to everyone in any country.

Comments on the above views are solicited from everyone with a view to prevent future wars and end current wars.
At 12:56pm on November 19, 2008, Rene Wadlow said…
I am pleased to send you an article on the need for reconciliation bridge-builders in areas of tensions and conflicts as in eastern Congo. Just as world citizens had pushed in the 1950s for the creation of UN Forces with soldiers specially prepared for peace-keeping service, so now we are again pushing for a new type of world civil servant. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have all contributed actively to military-peacekeeping forces. Perhaps these same countries can take a lead in forming reconciliation teams. Your support and advice would be most appreciated. With best wishes, Rene Wadlow

East Congo — Need for Reconciliation Bridge-Builders

Rene Wadlow



On bridges are stated the limits in tons

of the loads they can bear.

But I’ve never yet found one that can bear more

than we do.

Although we are not made of roman freestone,

nor of steel, nor of concrete.

From “Bridges” – Ondra Lysohorsky

Translated from the Lachian by Davis Gill.



Violence is growing in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, basically the administrative provinces of North and South Kivu. The violence could spread to the rest of the country as Angolan troops may come to the aid of the Central Government as they have in the past while Rwandan and Ugandan troops are said to be helping the opposing militia led by Laurent Nkunda. While Nkunda and his Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) say that they are only protecting the ethnic Tutsi living in Congo, Nkunda could emerge as a national opposition figure to President Joseph Kabila, who has little progress to show from his years in power.



There is high-level recognition that violence in Congo could spread, having a destabilizing impact on the whole region. UN diplomats, led by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, have stressed that a political solution — not a military one — is the only way to end the violence, and they are urging the presidents of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania to work together to restore stability. The instability, along with Congo’s vast mineral and timber riches have drawn in neighboring armies who have joined local insurgencies as well as local commanders of the national army to exploit the mines and to keep mine workers in near-slavery conditions.



The United Nations has some 17,000 peacemakers in Congo (MONUC), the UN’s largest peacekeeping mission, but their capacity is stretched to the limit. Recently, the General in command of the UN forces, Lieutenant General Vicent Diaz de Villegas of Spain resigned his post after seven weeks — an impossible task. Their mission is to protect civilians, some 250,000 of which have been driven from their homes since the fighting intensified in late August 2008. The camps where displaced persons have been living have been attacked both by government and rebel forces — looting, raping, and burning. UN under-secretary general for peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, is asking for an additional 3,000 soldiers, but it is not clear which states may propose troops for a very difficult mission. While MONUC has proven effective at securing peace in the Ituri district in north-eastern Congo, it has been much less successful in the two Kivu provinces.



The eastern area of Congo is the scene of fighting at least since 1998 — in part as a result of the genocide in neighboring Rwanda in 1994. In mid-1994, more than one million Rwandan Hutu refugees poured into the Kivus, fleeing the advance of the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, now become the government of Rwanda. Many of these Hutu were still armed, among them, the “genocidaire” who a couple of months before had led the killings of some 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda. They continued to kill Tutsi living in the Congo, many of whom had migrated there in the 18th century.



The people in eastern Congo have lived together for many centuries and had developed techniques of conflict resolution, especially between the two chief agricultural lifestyles: that of agriculture and cattle herding. However, the influx of a large number of Hutu, local political considerations, a desire to control the wealth of the area — rich in gold, tin and tropical timber — all these factors have overburdened the local techniques of conflict resolution and have opened the door to new, negative forces interested only in making money and gaining political power.



UN peace-keeping troops are effective when there is peace to keep. What is required today in eastern Congo is not so much more soldiers under UN command, than reconciliation bridge-builders, persons who are able to restore relations among the ethnic groups of the area. The United Nations, national governments, and non-governmental organizations need to develop bridge-building teams who can help to strengthen local efforts at conflict resolution and re-establishing community relations. In the Kivus, many of the problems arise from land tenure issues. With the large number of people displaced and villages destroyed, it may be possible to review completely land tenure and land use issues.



World citizens were among those in the early 1950s who stressed the need to create UN peace-keeping forces with soldiers especially trained for such a task. Today, a new type of world civil servant is needed — those who in areas of tension and conflict can undertake the slow but important task of restoring confidence among peoples in conflict, establishing contacts and looking for ways to build upon common interests.



Rene Wadlow, Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, Association of World Citizens
At 3:20pm on October 22, 2008, Joseph Anthony Migliore said…
Benita,

You've got it going on, so much going for you...hang in there and keep the faith, you'll get to grad school. PSU is waiting for you....

Have a good day, reach for the stars...!
At 7:52am on October 22, 2008, Muhamamd Moosa Rind said…
Have You ever been visit Gandhi grave or read gandhi........

peace,
At 7:19am on October 22, 2008, Muhamamd Moosa Rind said…
Dear Benita,
Really your simple but attractive profile to me becuase we also doing struggle in Sindh for Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Relief, Organizational Development for peace and harmoney...

however, what is your life vision?

Peace,
At 5:10pm on October 19, 2008, Joseph Anthony Migliore said…
Nice meeting you.

You are doing some great work in the field of humanitarian relief, I'm finishing my Masters at PSU.

Wishing you all the best,
At 9:21am on October 18, 2008, Alessandro said…

At 3:20am on October 16, 2008, THUSHARA WITHARANA said…
hi,I'm in sri Lanka.i'm working 4 peace.but now there is war.what is Ur peace works in this days.
At 10:09am on October 15, 2008, Alumai Godfrey Jeff said…
Looking at your interest it seems you are into giving hope to those who think they have lost it on planet earth. That for me is a wonderful benovelence and i hope you conyinue with that kind of spirit. Am not so much in to humantarian world but i have a soft heart for those who are into it. Am interested in the dynamics of poverty and i hope to link poverty with HIV AIDS prevelance in the near future hopefully when i come back to uganda coz i want to use uganda as my case study. I would think some information from your current research will be handy in this project. For now i encourage you to continue with your research area coz its a very fascinating area.
 
 

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