CFSC Service

Quick link to November 2011 D. R. Congo election observer team reports

Joint Press Release on Conglese Election from Development and Peace, Entraide missionnaire inc. and CFSC  (English and French)

Project Muinda, Kinshasa, D.R. Congo

“Muinda” comes from the word for “Light” in several languages used in Kinshasa. It has grown from the light of hope in each of its members, who are all Congolese determined that their city and their country can be a peaceful home. In a place where local and international political and commercial interests have acted to aggravate conflict and increase poverty for three generations, they have taken every opportunity to learn how to build peace and to teach their neighbours.

Having met at a peace education seminar in the late 1980’s where they learned of the Quaker model of unprogrammed worship, they experimented with it, then established Kinshasa Monthly Meeting, and were eventually recognized as an isolated Meeting by Friends World Committee for Consultation.

Concurrently, they conducted peace skills workshops, eventually establishing “Peace Cells” in each of the 26 neighbourhoods of the city.  They organized this peace education and action work as a service committee of the Monthly Meeting and called it “Project Muinda”.

By a series of chances, Ottawa Friends discovered Project Muinda in 1996, and recommended to CFSC that we join them in offering them some financial support. CFSC has been in firm and Friendly partnership ever since, supporting peace education, economic development projects, and election monitoring efforts planned and undertaken by local people. “Project Muinda people are so self-reliant and courageous!” says Sybil Grace of Ottawa Meeting. “I am always encouraged when I hear about them.”  In 2004, Victoria Friends Meeting joined Ottawa Meeting in making an annual contribution.

What is a Peace Cell?

A Peace Cell is a group of volunteers are drawn from a variety of the ethnic, gender, and age sectors of the community. Core membership is 5 to 10 people. The members are trained in six peacebuilding skills: peace cell facilitation, non-violent communication, conflict mediation and resolution, community building, policy dialogue and election observation. The members use their skills without pay to assist their neighbours in any conflict situation. They also animate their communities to find collective solutions to problems that they have in common. The community-based connections of the network, as well as the members’ peacebuilding skills, makes it a strong vehicle for public education on any topic, such as, notably during 2010 and 2011, election participation and observation. The peace cells operate with the permission of the municipal authorities and have appropriate working relationships with them.

One of CFSC’s program staff, Gianne Broughton, visited Kinshasa in February 2011, and spent time with each of six Peace Cells. Inspiring stories of conflicts resolved were shared. Here are some examples:

In Lemba neighbourhood, where teenagers disbanded hostile groups

In Ngaliema neighbourhood, where a soccer tournament was organized

Election Observation

In D. R. Congo’s context of underdeveloped governance, it is important to encourage democratic participation.  The country is now entering a period of elections, with the presidential elections beginning in November 2011, and elections at other levels progressing throughout 18 months. Project Muinda recognizes this as a strategic “teachable moment”. The peace cell network can contribute by providing: (a) non-partisan observers making regular reports, and (b) mediation teams that can de-escalate minor conflicts that may arise.  For a country the size of D. R. Congo, there can never be enough international observers to cover a large enough proportion of polling stations to ensure that there are not pockets of malpractice.  Also, the dedication of local people to this role models and develops a local sense of responsibility for local governance.  It shows the local political candidates and electoral officials that their own people are watching them, able to discern good behaviour. The very act of maintaining an impartial, balanced attitude is an important element of peacebuilding, and is a skill that has to be learned, not taken for granted. Election observation offers an opportunity to help people develop this skill in a very practical application.  It also provides a timely context for people to learn about their human rights and resultant appropriate expectations for good governance.

Project Muinda began preparing for this opportunity in 2010 by organizing a seminar for Peace Cell members and by gathering Quaker peace workers from neighboring countries to form a regional group to participate in election observations. CFSC and Ottawa Monthly Meeting found a little extra funding to help these activities happen. The link below gives a summary of these preparatory seminars. The Quaker UN Office in New York is also engaged in monitoring the UN’s role in D. R. Congo and is networking with Project Muinda in this work.

• Summary Report (August 2010) of the Election Observation Training Seminar and the Launch of the Quaker Peace Network Central Africa and Establishment of its Constitution  (This link has been removed temporarily.)

More to come on this page as it is further constructed!