Peace begins with me
"Peace isn’t something that, once attained, will last for all time. It needs to be continuously achieved and secured anew,” explained Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa today at the launch of the Caritas annual campaign in Leipzig. "Peace begins with me” is the campaign’s title and ties into the commitment: "Even in times of unrest, promoting peace is possible and urgently necessary.”
The Caritas campaign aims to show what everyone can contribute and what is needed for reconciliation. To do this, Caritas highlights social projects and offerings which contribute to peace. Because: "Peace requires more and is more than the mere absence of war and violence,” said Welskop-Deffaa. Responsibility for peace begins with me and you, it starts anew each and every day in the here and now; the Caritas President said: "In the face of the globalisation of indifference, what’s needed is a ‘we’ based in solidarity.” In view of polarising debates and divisive behaviours in society, Welskop-Deffaa emphasised: "Caritas acts as a peacebuilder where it diminishes the potential for conflict in family counselling centres, reception centres for refugees and railway mission stations. But in our political work as well, it’s all about building bridges, enabling compromises and thwarting agitators.”
At the main launch event, Tobias Strieder, Chairman of the Caritas Association Leipzig, added: "For people who live in loneliness and isolation, people who are in poor health, and people who don’t know if they will be able to make ends meet at the end of the month, the current crises will seem like such a heavy load and cause such distress that the capacity for joint resistance will be lacking.”
Peacebuilding actions come in many forms
"Peacebuilding actions come in many forms,” iterated the Caritas President. She became acquainted with some of these at the campaign launch in Leipzig. This is where she visited the "Stinktier” ("Skunk”) project of the Caritas Association Leipzig, which offers violence prevention in schools. The students learn to recognise conflicts at an early stage, find non-violent ways to resolve them and prevent situations from escalating.
Many people in the 25,000 Caritas facilities nationwide are committed to getting along together peacefully. For instance, in "big brother/big sister” programmes for refugee children, which are often run by volunteers. Peacebuilding can also take the form of good support at the beginning and end of life, relief for overwhelmed family members who are caregivers, or political advocacy for stable funding of social services. With particular expertise, Caritas International is active in disasters and conflict regions, for example, with aid offerings in Ukraine and for relatives of people who have gone missing in Colombia.
At the kick-off of its nationwide campaign, the Caritas Association demonstrates how diverse peace work can be at multiple locations. At the Caritas Don Bosco daycare centre in Solingen, actor duo Fug and Janina, known from the show "Sendung mit der Maus” ("The Show with the Mouse”), presented the interactive play "Katze und Hund, na und?” ("Dog and cat, fancy that”) developed for the Caritas Association at the Archdiocese of Cologne, which focuses on conflict resolution.
In Hamelin, Lower Saxony, the campaign launch was held at the "No Limits” girls’ centre.
Have a look in the mirror
In the course of the year, the Caritas campaign aims to encourage its own providers, staff - both full-time and volunteer - and cooperation partners, affiliated institutions and citizens to reflect on their contribution to peace with events at many locations. Mirrors installed in the public space, bearing the campaign motto "Peace begins with me”, are an invitation to reflect. Moreover, mirror surfaces already provided in Caritas facilities, such as those in washrooms or change rooms, will also be used to encourage peacebuilding.