The Words of the Balcomb Family
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The Words of the Balcomb Family |
Kenema, Sierra Leone - An International Leadership Conference and Global Peace Tour event was held in Kenema, a town at the center of recent violence and conflict. The Conference registered religious leaders, members of civil society groups, NGO’s and members from the community anxious to hear new ways of reaching for reconciliation.
The President of the Peace council Mrs. Alice Kamara moderated the conference, and the presentations were done by the Secretary General of the UPF Rev. John D.S. Samura. The Conference was called to order by the Secretary of the Youth Federation for World Peace (YFWP) Alpha Y. Mansaray who introduced the moderator and the President.
Rev. John D.S. Samura gave a presentation to introduce the mission of the UPF as a global alliance of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a world of peace, a world where everyone can live together in freedom, harmony, and cooperation and with prosperity for all. “The foundation of our peace efforts rests on commonly shared universal principles,” he said.
The Rev John D.S. Samura continued with other ILC presentations including “One Family under God”, “Significance of Being an Ambassador for Peace” and “Character Education Initiative.” Participants reacted enthusiastically by asking many questions and giving meaningful contributions.
The 28th of March started off with a service project wherein Peace Ambassadors took up the project in cleaning the city center. The Mayor of the town joined the ambassadors in the cleaning of the town center.
Later on the 28th of March, the main program continued at the Trinity Hall. Secretary-General Samura introduced the leader of the UPF Kenema chapter, Mr. Hassan Kabba. The program then continued with the founder’s speech that was presented by Mrs. Alice Kamara, President of the Peace Council.
She thanked Mr. Hassan Kabba and his staff for their great efforts in making the event possible. Sharing the dramatic vision of peace for the 21st century that is sweeping across the globe, she continued by saying that it is a spiritual vision rooted in time -- enduring principles, values and aspirations, and it is inspiring a great peace movement throughout the world. That unifying vision is “One Family under God.”
Discussing the global crisis, Kamara noted that “most governments, the G -- 20 and the United Nations are focused only on the ongoing worldwide financial chaos. But even more fundamentally, we face a growing moral and spiritual crisis, evidenced in the rise of family and marriage breakdown, divorce, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the growing number of young people alienated from society and prone to violent and anarchic impulses.”
“The universal appeal of the vision to create One family under God testifies to the fact that we do live at a time when lasting change is truly possible,” she said. “The Global Peace Tour and the Global Peace Festivals can play a vital role in restoring Sierra Leone, a nation recently torn by conflict.”