How can local communities come together for peace within and between newcomer communities? Peace for all Canada, one of the ventures in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement’s Grebel Peace Incubator, envisions a society of collective and prosperous communities, and displays these values through their thorough and continuous work.
Ayiko Soloman, the founder of Peace for All Canada, found his inspiration for this organization from his personal experience with peacebuilding dialogues abroad. In 2006, Ayiko travelled to post-conflict Uganda to engage in peacebuilding dialogues and other peace projects. This initiative ended up engaging over 50 Ugandan districts. These initiatives focused on education projects and promoting peaceful coexistence at the household and neighbourhood level.
After this, Ayiko also collaborated with local officials in South Sudan to establish the Woman Vision Organization. This organization was a tool that joined minds and resources alike to advance the universal message of peace and love.
On returning to the Waterloo Region after achieving so much overseas, Ayiko was inspired to establish Peace for All Canada in 2019, a non-profit born from the hope of creating a brighter future. Waterloo Region has many diverse communities, and Peace for All Canada envisions itself as a bridge between communities, helping to unite the region. Transforming differences into strengths and mobilizing local resources to build a shared future grounded in unity.
Peace for All Canada fosters the notion of community-driven change by hosting a variety of unique programs, such as their Community Peacemaking Circle Dialogues program, supported by Waterloo Region Community Foundation. This initiative is designed to encourage healthy discussion, collaboration, and unity among culturally diverse communities. One of the Centre for Peace Advancement’s recent Coffee Breaks focused on their upcoming dialogues surrounding conflict in Sudan. James, one of the members of the local Sudanese- Canadian community, spoke openly about his worries with issues arising in his home country of South Sudan. Circle dialogues like these allow for a better understanding of pressing issues, but also a clearer vision of how to help those affected in our communities.
Another prominent program hosted by Peace for All Canada is their Robotics Classes. This hands-on program aims to provide underrepresented groups with skills and confidence to succeed in tech-driven fields. The goal of this program is to address unequal opportunities by equipping young minds with the tools to innovate and create. This past October, Peace for All Canada has been busy working in different classrooms teaching students about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) and giving them the opportunity to build their own creations to further their knowledge. For example, students in this program took on the challenges of building a CNC router model and creating a colour-identifying robots.
Finally, through the financial support of the Law Foundation of Ontario, this Fall Peace for All Canada has been able to launch the Community Legal Information Project (CLIP). CLIP has developed a cost-effective, adaptive model for delivering high-quality legal information and resources directly to low-income and marginalized individuals in Kitchener-Waterloo. CLIP’s dedicated team operates in many community locations including Supportive Housing of Waterloo, and the Social Development Centre.
The goal of this project is to meet people where they are in a literal sense. Individuals who use these spaces can receive on-site legal information and help navigate their legal questions. The main objective of CLIP is to overcome the significant barriers some communities in the Region face in accessing justice. This work is a crucial first step in empowering people to confidently navigate the legal system.
Overall, Peace for all Canada aims to build communities, raise awareness and empower people. The work done by the Peace for All Canada team is incredible and shows how pivotal they are to building peace in the region, and we can’t wait to see what they’re up to next!