Many laughs, a few tears and deep bonding during the first Creators of Peace in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia
On the 4th and 5th of February, 2017 seven enthusiastic women joined to go through for the first ever intensive Creators of Peace Circle in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. At the end of the two days experience a team was created where the participants agreed first and foremost to care for each other and develop together an avenue to give back to their community in their diverse walks of their lives.
Azeb Germai of IofC Ethiopia took the facilitation training at Caux, Switzerland in 2008. Azeb said that she always yearned for a Peace Circle to happen in Ethiopia ever since she took the training. She recalls that there have been efforts on two occasions to hold a Peace Circle in Ethiopia. However, this has been the first complete Peace Circle that has officially created committed members that have drawn up their action plan and commitment to work together and link up to their regional and international counterparts.
Azeb said that it was a privilege to get involved with such committed, visionary and responsible women with a forward thinking to give back to their community. More so, women who are not shy to be vulnerable and reveal their true self. Azeb pointed out that she was healed and transformed to have spent an amazing weekend with such strong women.
The Co-organizer Nadia said “The whole weekend reminded me about the importance of letting go of complex thinking in our minds, to reconnect to our hearts, and looking at events and experiences with fresh eyes. This is relevant for me as I have recently committed to embark on a journey of self-transformation.”
Aida one of the participants said that the end of the meeting “Each lady shared her experiences inside the home, at work and other situations. As we lifted the veil of our lives, we shared with one another the different interpretations of the points put before us.”
“It was a space that has strengthened old friendship and created new ones. It was a space that has allowed us to express ourselves without any fear and obligation. The Peace Circle helped us to realize that, we have done something in the past and yet there is a lot to be done in whatever capacity we are all working on” said Ledet
The highlight of the COP weekend was holding the Peace Circle in Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia).It created the platform to actively and consciously translate and reflect on the words, phrases, concepts, poems, songs and sayings so as to build appropriate vocabulary for future replication of the process, locally. In the event that the group expands, the medium of a local language can make the concepts and the intention of Creators of Peace (COP) easier to understand and deeply meaningful. Peace Circle has in fact enriched the participants and created a significant internalization of the concept.