Peace education at schools is needed to eradicate gangsterism and drugs from an early age, said Bonteheuwel Walking Ladies chairwoman, Soraya Salie.
She was speaking at the 8th anniversary of the September 18 HWPL World Peace Summit, held at the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront last Thursday September 22, which 500 guests attended.
The Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) is an international NGO striving to achieve world peace. It was established on May 25, 2013 in Seoul Korea.
Ms Salie, an International Peace Women Group ambassador, said that peace education needed to be implemented at schools in South Africa instead of sex education. She said that the event displayed a strong sense of energy and willingness to display peace.
“If all of us can display that peace within our homes, schools, and community then overall peace is possible. Schools, including early childhood development centres, should include peace education and then bring it up to primary and high schools because our kids today have no respect and discipline. We need to bring values and morals back to society. Self-respect, for parents, and Mother Nature must be taught,” she said.
Regional manager of South Africa HWPL, Nkanyiso Radebe, said that he appreciated the good attendance and wanted everyone to work together to advocate for a world of peace. He said it was important to shine a light of positivity despite ongoing challenges around the world.
He said over the years many memberships and relationships had been built around the world and it was important to create these relationships at a school level so that peace education can be integrated from a young age at primary school and not only once pupils get to high school.
“Ask yourself where you fit into all of this and what you can do to help. We need to have a shared vision of creating a world of peace and a culture of no war but everlasting peace. For this goal to be reached we must work together to create a legacy of peace for future generations. This will require different skill sets and special needs. Young people must rise and advocate for peace and create a society ruled by law and justice,” he said.
City of Cape Town’s portfolio committee on safety and security chairman, Mzwake Nqavashe, said a peaceful world without war is what the HWPL strived for, and their wish was for all conflict to come to an end and for residents to live with freedom and love. He said that residents need to feel that they can have hope again and it was important to build a lasting legacy of harmony and peace.
“It is our hope that lasting peace can be brought to worn-torn societies and and shape societies to be free of constant fear and anxiety. Our hope is for a better future and for that we need to invest in policing capacity, technology, and depend on organisations such as neighbourhood watches to help us get to the root causes of crime. The concept of crime prevention must be a holistic one.”
Regarding the importance of peace building at the global level, chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL, said: “The global village has suffered from the unexpected Covid-19 that has hit every country. People are not alone amid difficulties. We live in the same global village, and we are neighbours and families. Each one of us is the one who is obliged to make our world a better place to live. And shouldn’t we pass on our good world to our descendants?” he said.
