Peacebuilding

One of the most stubborn memories is conflict. Conflicts disrupt stability and leave deep physical, psychological, spiritual, and cultural scars on both the individual and the communities they belong to. In communities, these memories of conflict are perpetuated intergenerationally.

Conflicts often emerge from the ambitions and exploitation of the powerful, imposed on those with less agency. We often remember conflicts as acts of patriotic virtue—ritualized in ways that shape national and civic identity.

Reconciliation as a critical component of peacebuilding project usually does not get prioritized; to imagine reconciliation in tandem with philanthropy will sound preposterous to many. Let us re-imagine: “money” is the mover and shaker of everything, big and small, of significant and insignificant. Everything is a commodity which necessitates monetary transaction of high-significant or low-significant value. Use of money is a symbolic manifestation of the meaningfulness, commitment and engagement we attribute to any activity we engage in, whether material, emotional or intellectual. Peacebuilding is a lifetime ever-evolving project with many components to ti, some very visible, others are not visible, some demonstrable, others very subtle, but crucial linchpins.