Burundi, Congolese youth arrive for peace drive

A group of youth from member states of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) are camping in Rubavu District where they will engage in charity work advocating for peace building in the region.They include students from secondary schools or institutions of higher learning in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the member states of the regional grouping.The group is expected to undertake courses in political stability and peace building and conduct charity activities that will benefit the community.Joseph Litityo, an official from CEPGL, yesterday said the youth will construct a playground aimed at contributing to the development of recreational activities in the area.“The general idea is to enable youth from the different countries to share experiences and ideas on how to grow and work in harmony with each other,” Litityo said.He said that as a sign of solidarity, the youth will in future conduct rotational visits in the three countries for similar peace charity campaigns.Pierre Mrisho from DRC, said the outcome of the campaign is impressive, especially as it comes at a time when security in his country is deteriorating by the day.“Everyone knows the problems in my country and it is important that we all participate in finding solutions for them because it sometimes gets out of hand,” he said.Mrisho remained optimistic that by end of the two-weeks, he will have acquired the ability and techniques to help his fellow youth effectively participate in peace building in DRC.Claude Ntwari from Burundi said such programmes promote togetherness and unity despite involving members from different countries.“Even if we come from different countries, these activities help nurture the unity between the future leaders of our respective countries,” he said.At the start of the campaign yesterday, Rubavu District vice Mayor in charge of social affairs, Rachel Nyirasafari, encouraged the participants to strengthen personal perception of moral values of different communities.

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Burundi, Congolese youth arrive for peace drive