GPR launches in Liberia

Global Peace Road or GPR 2016 has been launched in Liberia under the theme, “Come let us reason together for a better tomorrow.”GPR is a reconciliatory initiative by the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles-Liberia or (CARP-Liberia) and the Family Federation of World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) as well as the Universal Peace Federation (UFP). It was launched recently in Monrovia.

The head of the Family Federation of World Peace, Rev. Pamela S.M. Mwanga said as part of the launch, CARP-Liberia and FFWPU conducted a 21-day youth camp to teach young people how to become good citizens.

“A 21-day youth camp for young people have just ended and we taught them how to be peace soldiers in their communities” she said. Rev. Mwanga cautioned Liberians to continue to walk for peace until the entire world can become totally peaceful, which she said is the vision of the Universal Peace Federation.

She also encouraged young Liberians to join the peace federation, emphasizing its importance as the country takes charge of security from UNMIL. The Secretary General of the Universal Peace Federation-Liberia Rev. Augustine Arquoi challenged young people to become agents of peace, which describes as cardinal to mankind existence.

Rev. Arquoi said the launch of the Global Peace Road is to promote peace project in Liberia and encourage young people to propagate the initiative in their various communities. According to him, the first guarantee of any endeavor in the world is peace and security, saying “Without peace, students will not go to school, businessman will not sell, peace and security are the first guarantee for any venture.”

The UPF Secretary General urged Liberians to start to prepare for peace, ahead of the 2017 Representative and Presidential elections.  Meanwhile, former beneficiaries of the peace initiative, Deputy Labor Minister for Manpower Development, Prince M.Korvah; Deputy Executive Director of the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) , Atty. Kojo Ross; Montserrado County Public Defender, Cllr. Richard Scott, have all praised Rev. Arquoi for dedicating his entire life to encouraging young people to get involved in peace activities.

The three officials, have benefited various forms of peace training programs under Rev. Arquoi, encouraged the peace soldiers to remain dedicated, narrating their success stories on peace initiatives.

“The mentoring he gave us has helped us to be able to today cultivate the act of dedication, the act of leadership, the act of commitment and we continue to contribute to peace building and nation building,” said Cllr. Scott.

“Coming back here is like being back home, but pretty much of what we archived, we owe it to Rev. Arquoi. It is a blessing to have him. Nobody grows without a mentor; you must have somebody whose life worth emulating, and that person is Rev. Arquoi,” said Atty. Ross.

The launch concluded with the certification of over 15 youths who participated in the 21-day peace camp and walk for peace around the Paynesville City Hall in the suburb of Monrovia.

By Sally Gaye -Editing by Jonathan Browne