NGO trains Kaduna communities on religious tolerance, conflict sensitivity
A Non-Governmental Organisation, Rural Development Counsellors For Christian Churches in Africa (RURCON), has trained three communities in Kaduna State on religious tolerance and conflict sensitivity.
The communities are: Gidan Waya in Jema’a Local Government Area and Zonkwa and Ayagan in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.
Supreme news reports that the training was part of a 5-year Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) project implemented by RURCON, with support from Tearfund.
Speaking at a review meeting of the project at the communities, RURCON’s project officer, Elizabeth Onu, said the aim of the JISRA project was to address intra, inter and extra religious dynamics in Nigeria to promote Freedom of Religion and Belief.
She said, “The project has been running for five years since 2021 and the whole idea is to bring unity across religious divide.
“One of the main objectives of JISRA is to stand against discrimination and segregation as well as extremist tendencies across religious practices.
“Let everyone be able to practice what he or she believes without discrimination, and also your religious practices should not endanger another person.”
Onu stated that the project engaged youths, women and religious leaders and had several community based mechanisms put in place to address issues through advocacy and dialogue.
“Stakeholders were equipped with knowledge and skills in advocacy, dialogue and financial literacy.
“Interfaith forums were set up across peer groups to address interfaith issues peculiar to the groups among other initiatives,” she added.
According to her, people are first human beings before they are members of any religion, hence humanity should be at the centre of everything they do.
Also speaking, Seth Gado, RURCON’s Director of Programmes, stressed that the essence of the review meeting was to discuss achievements and lessons learned from the first year of the project implementation to date.
Gado tasked the communities on the need to take ownership of the JISRA project and sustain it beyond 2025.
“Our work here may have come to an end but we are urging you to do your best to ensure it’s sustainability.
“We want to continue hearing beautiful stories of how this project has transformed your lives and community,” he stated.
In their remarks, Titah Kube and Honest Ayuba, Secretaries of Godogodo and Kajju Traditional Councils, respectively, lauded RURCON for the positive impact the JISRA project has had on their communities.
Some of the community members, Reuben Michael and Garba Saleh, from Gidan Waya and Ayagan, shared their experiences of how JISRA had reshaped their perception of how they viewed humanity.
According to them, the project had helped them break barriers that hitherto hindered communal living amongst people of different religions and beliefs.
Others who spoke also lauded the inclusion of women in traditional council in the community, giving them opportunity to be heard in decision making processes.
