From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
A Non Governmental Organization (NGO), International Alert and Kende Avese Foundation has restored peace in Tiv and Jukun communities in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
The two communities located in Fiidi Council Ward in Makurdi Local Government Area of the state had series of crisis over land and fish ponds.
As part of efforts to end the protracted crisis, the foundation supported by International Alert trained members of both communities on how to turn agricultural waste into wealth and on fish production.
The project which is production of Charcoal Briquettes and construction of 5000 capacity fish pond, commissioned and handed over to both the Tiv and Jukun communities were done under the “Powering Peace through Climate change Actions,” a project implemented by International Alert.
Speaking at the project sites during the commissioning and handing over of the projects to the communities on Wednesday, the Executive order Director, International Alert, Nick Hailey, commended both communities for agreeing and working together to achieve peace.
He said “It is hard for people to live together in peace and so you should be proud of what you have done so far. You need to keep working on it to stay together.
“As your international friends, we are all learning to live in a difficult world and what you have done today will come handy for replication when I speak to people in other climes.”
Hailey, who also met the the state Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia during his visit to Benue, expressed hope that the peace they have found will last long for the unity and development of their community and Benue state at large.
Also, the Country Director of International Alert, Paul Nyulaku, expressed happiness with what Kende Avese had done with the community.
He recalled that earlier it was difficult for both communities to come together saying peace is the only thing that can ensure development.
“For us as a peace building organization, we are happy that you can deal with the impact of climate change and environmental degradation in your community by making use of waste from your farm lands to produce something useful, a charcoal briquette.
He lamented that the increasing level of deforestation across the country coupled with the high price of charcoal and firewood saying the charcoal briquettes will help provide the needed energy for domestic and industrial needs.
He disclosed that the key objectives of the project was to building social cohesion and togetherness, deal with impact of climate change and also help the community create wealth and make money.
He said, ‘When we came here, we saw the level of destruction but now, both communities are able to come together as one. Going forward, we want to see that people in Fiidi community will communicate better and live together happily,” Nyulaku said.
Earlier the Ter Makurdi, HRH Chief Vincent Aule, and the District Head of Ugondo, Zaki Terseer Ihwakar, appreciated International Alert for sponsoring the foundation and ensuring peace in their domain saying
“For the past two years, we have not slept with our eyes closed and we are happy with these organizations. The Tiv and Jukun in the community have had series of problems over land and fish ponds. We are happy it is over now. I assure you that the Ugondo people will continue to partner with them and ensure that project is sustained,” Zaki Ihwakar assured.
According to the Ter Makurdi, “the timeliness of this project, training communities to convert waste materials into charcoal to stop the indiscriminate cutting down of trees to reduce the effect of climate change on the environment cannot be more timely than now as a stable climate is intricately linked to global peace.
“We are excited to be part of this and we are looking forward to more collaboration of such with International Alert and any other organization with similar object so that together, let’s harness the momentum of climate action to power global peace”, he said and appreciated the wife of the Tor Tiv for attending to the less privileged in their communities.
Meanwhile, some of the trainees, Japheth Tormbu and Mariamu Alexander, described the project as enriching saying they have gained a lot of experience, knowledge of understanding on how to keep peace in their neighborhood.
“In the past three years, it was not so. We had lots of crisis and couldn’t live together. But with this project, we now know the consequences of cutting down trees and how to earn a living especially with the economic challenges. We are now peace makers and peace keepers also,” Tormbu said.
Also speaking, Mariamu Alexander, thanked God for sending International Alert to their community, saying “Before now, I never knew that these agricultural waste is useful to us. We thought it was waste but we appreciate them for showing us how to turn these wastes into wealth.
“Now I can produce charcoal for my personal use and I can also sell it to make money for my family use. It has also reduced the cutting down of trees in our forests. I am now the chief of charcoal producers,” she said.