The United Nations in Afghanistan

"Peace is necessary to access all children and vaccinate them against polio."
Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan

For four consecutive years, Peace Day has been observed in Afghanistan on a national scale and 4.5 million children have benefited from polio immunisations.

Since 2007, Peace Day agreements by all parties to conflict in Afghanistan have resulted in the immunisation against polio of 4.5 million children in areas hitherto unreachable or hard to reach due to conflict. This polio drive has been a joint effort by the Afghan health authorities, World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and it was also supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross as well as health NGOs.

On Peace Day 2008 in Afghanistan the United Nations Department for Safety and Security, which monitors security related incidents, recorded a 70% reduction in violent incidents.

On Peace Day 2010, over 50,000 children and women of child-bearing age, across 23 high-risk locations of greater Kabul, were vaccinated against deadly diseases including polio, meningitis, diphtheria and tetanus. In addition, a nationwide polio immunisation campaign to target 8 million children was launched.

Star Syringe

"At Star Syringe, the team is inspired everyday to deliver medicines safely across the world. But on the 21st September, we double our efforts along with our global partners. Why? Why Not! What better celebration of humanity is there than to save a life rather than to destroy one."
Marc Koska, Founder of Star Syringe

For five consecutive years, Star Syringe has marked Peace Day in over 20 locations across the globe where over 20,000 people benefited from Star Syringe auto-disable syringe vaccinations.

Star Syringe’s activities have included free vaccinations (Tetanus, Typhoid, etc.), health awareness workshops about the use of Auto-Disable Syringes and rallies that have gained international press coverage. Star Syringe's life-saving activities have taken place in India, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Uganda, China, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Nigeria.

UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Insecticide treated mosquito net distribution benefited over 600,000 children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

For Peace Day 2007, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNICEF led an integrated immunisation campaign for Vitamin A deficiency, de-worming and measles treatment. Insecticide treated mosquito net distribution also went ahead benefiting over 600,000 children in the conflict-affected South Kivu province. Other agencies involved included DFID, PSI and USAID, Government of Japan, UN Foundation, WHO, AXxes, MOH + Drive Against Malaria.

World Food Program (WFP) in Sudan

60 tons of food were delivered in Southern Sudan.

In 2006, WFP carried out a food drop in southern Sudan on Peace Day and sixty tons were delivered successfully. Peace One Day was there to document this commitment.

The International Rescue Committee

A former child soldier was reunited with her family.

In 2006, the International Rescue Committee in Congo reunited a family torn apart by war. A girl had been taken by rebels and forced to fight. After several years, she was let go. The IRC found her, gave her needed assistance, traced her family and brought her home on Peace Day.

Pump Aid

For two consecutive years, Pump Aid has marked Peace Day by installing ‘Elephant Pumps’ in rural Liberia and Malawi, improving water access to the surrounding communities.

Pump Aid worked with the Initiative for the Development of Former Child Soldiers (IDFCS) to involve former child-soldiers and local communities in Liberia in building and setting the foundations for their ‘Elephant Pump’. In Malawi, they held a One Day One Goal football match at a local school to celebrate the installation of an Elephant Pump in the community. Chiwenga School enjoyed their Peace Day! Pump Aid hopes that, due to their improved water access and new sports equipment, the memory of this day will last a little longer.

Counterpart International

"The mission of Counterpart International is to empower vulnerable people to implement innovative, holistic and enduring solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges. With 350 staff currently operating in 25 countries, Counterpart's programs encompass humanitarian aid and relief assistance, health care, democracy and governance, natural resource management and feeding the impoverished. Our dedicated and talented staff works to make peace every day."
Jennifer Leigh Grizzard Ekzarkhov, Director of Communications, Counterpart International

Humanitarian activities benefited over 65,000 people in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Vietnam.

For Peace Day 2010, a humanitarian aid shipment including hygiene kits and bedding sets was distributed to the victims of the June civil conflict in Jalal-Abad and Osh oblasts, south of Kyrgyzstan.

In Azerbaijan, two small reconstruction projects were completed – a maternity hospital and a medical clinic. The renovated Otuziki Maternity Station serves a cluster of nearby villages and a total of 2,500 needy people and 120 IDP and refugee families. In the newly opened Dede-Gorgud Village Medical Point in the Saatli region of Azerbaijan, Counterpart installed a new roof and ceilings, and replaced all doors and windows.

In both Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, government officials, TV stations and newspaper journalists were present at the opening ceremonies, and the presentation was aired on the local TV channels.

In Georgia, Counterpart’s Community & Humanitarian Assistance Programs (CHAP) office worked together with the Sighnaghi Town Municipality to arrange a joint charity event in support of disabled people of the Sighnaghi Region. The distribution provided 45 disabled residents with new wheelchairs.

Counterpart’s Tajikistan office arranged a distribution of humanitarian assistance to a Gissar District Republican Boarding School. With the support of its long term partner, NGO Munis, they distributed clothing, footwear, walkers and food to over 260 students, ranging in age from 7 to 16 years old.

As part of the One Day One Goal initiative, football matches were played in Tajikistan and Vietnam, where different organisations took part. Also in Vietnam, 56 of Counterpart’s microfinance clients received loans for their farm and countryside enterprises in honour of Peace Day.

Camps International Trust

“We value the vision of Peace One Day enormously. As a business which works at grass roots level with indigenous communities in the developing world and actively engages in environment and wildlife conservation, we do not need to look far for ways to support the organisation.”
Stuart Rees Jones, Founder & Chief Executive

For two consecutive years, a Human-Wildlife Peace Day project has benefited whole communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Borneo.

Camps International created the Human-Wildlife Peace Day programme in 2009, to bring together communities and wildlife that are at conflict with each other in an effort to reduce human–wildlife conflict and foster human-wildlife cooperation.

On Peace Day 2009, in Rukinga and Camp Tsavo, Kenya, 30 gap year students joined about 52 staff for a week of activities with 600 school children and 400 parents and local inhabitants. Workshops were conducted with the local population on elephant-friendly projects like growing mushrooms and making paper from elephant dung, planting and learning about aloe vera, etc. On the weekend of Peace Day, there was a local concert at the school, games and a drama presentation to bring out a sense of Human–Wildlife Cooperation. Similar events to the ones in Kenya also took place in Tanzania and Borneo.

On Peace Day 2010, human-wildlife conflict education programmes got the communities together in 5 different Camps: Borneo, Tanzania, and Makongeni, Msambweni and Muhaka in Kenya.

The African Union (AU)

The African Union worked with humanitarian agencies to distribute humanitarian supplies and materials in various locations in Africa.

2010 was declared the Year of Peace and Security in Africa with its core message - Make Peace Happen - being centred on Peace Day, 21 September.

Organisations such as AMISOM and UNHCR carried out activities including: humanitarian aid in the Central African Republic and Cameroon, support to urban refugees in the Ivory Coast, humanitarian aid for hospitals and IDPs (Internally Displaced People) in Somalia and counselling to asylum seekers in Libya.

UN Foundation / Nothing But Nets

The first of more than 800,000 life-saving bed nets were distributed in the Central African Republic to help protect families from malaria.

For Peace Day 2010, The UN Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign was proud to join POD to commemorate the day. In partnership with PSI (Population Services International) and singer/actress Mandy Moore, they travelled to the Central African Republic (CAR) to distribute the first of more than 800,000 life-saving bed nets. The launch of the second phase of this country-wide distribution campaign was attended by government officials, including the Prime Minister, UN officials, and local NGO workers from the capital Bangui.

Stop Hunger Now

Over 285,000 meals were packaged and sent to the Ivory Coast to benefit 900 children in 4 orphanages.

The meals were sent to support Foundation SPLAR in Lagoon Province, Ivory Coast and are used in crisis situations plus school feeding programmes for schools and orphanages in developing countries. They promote social entrepreneurship and public health/nutrition services for children under the Zero Vitamin Deficiency Movement.

Merlin

Merlin’s Hands Up For Health Workers campaign team carried out a publicity stunt in London to raise awareness about the impact of conflict on health workers.

Wearing white doctors coats and armed with ‘toetags’ and stencils with messages on, the team brought health workers’ stories to Londoners. Merlin also launched a campaign paper demanding urgent protection and funding for health workers in conflict countries. Visit www.handsupforhealthworkers.org now to raise your hand for a health worker on the frontline.

World Vision International

"World Vision focuses on the International Day of Peace as a time to publicly rally children, youth and adults around the world in celebration and support of peace. The IDoP provides us an opportunity to share hidden stories of courage and competence on the global stage while contributing to an ecology of peace in which all children can thrive and reach their full potential."
Bill Lowrey, WVI Director of Peacebuilding

Collections of war toys, exhibitions of children’s art about peace and youth camps on conflict resolution were a few of the activities carried out by World Vision in various countries including Pakistan, Mozambique, Uganda, Kosovo, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

World Vision also announced the two recipients of its annual WV International Peace Prize, which recognises an individual who has courageously worked to bring peace to an area of conflict and an organisation which has demonstrated excellence in integrating peacebuilding in relief, development and advocacy programming over a sustained period of time.

MAG – Mines Advisory Group

"As well as removing the immediate threat these items pose we also think its vital that communities are given the skills and opportunities they need to secure their own safe futures. Peace One Day echoes this message of pragmatic action and peace and MAG is proud to work with these other organisations to achieve our shared goals."
Lou McGrath OBE, Chief Executive, MAG

In Somalia, a team of police officers conducted a clearance task with deadly weapons. MAG-supported Puntland Police EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) team travelled from their base in Garowe to Eyl where they hunted dangerous items of unexploded ordinance. In Sudan, a mine-risk education session was held. In Burundi, a store of lethal hand grenades was demolished.

MAG Community Liaison (CL) Sudan visited Shekinah Orphanage and Basic Primary School in Nimule, near Uganda. The team provided all the children with a Mine Risk Education session. The older children were then invited to write a collective letter of hope and peace to the students of a school in North Sudan, where MAG is also providing Mine Risk Education.

MAG Burundi’s mobile team, made up of MAG technicians and members of the Police Nationale du Burundi (PNB) seconded to MAG, visited a police armoury in the Muramvya Province. There they found and removed piles of surplus small arms, grenades and ammunitions which posed not only a significant threat of accident, but also of being stolen or leaked on the black market.

Friends of the Orphans

Food was distributed to 280 vulnerable and displaced children affected by the January 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Angels of Light is an outreach programme that is helping more than 2,000 children on a daily basis by providing a day camp for those from tent cities, large scale food distribution, a transition centre, comprehensive medical services and educational opportunities. The programme also used the Peace One Day Global Education Resource to involve the children in peace building issues and Peace Day activities.

Better World Campaign

"The International Day of Peace supports UN peacekeeping goals to protect and provide for those who are caught in the crossfire of violence. Peace One Day’s call for a day of ceasefire is an opportunity for combatants and leaders, many who have been in conflict for generations, to put down their arms and reflect on their country, their people, and their families. The Better World Campaign supports any efforts towards peace as motivation for ending conflict altogether."
Michael Beard, Director, Better World Campaign

Thank a UN Peacekeeper raised awareness UN Peacekeeping missions worldwide. Over 15,000 people from around the world signed up in recognition of the 100,000 men and women from 160 countries serving as UN peacekeepers in 17 of the world’s most difficult regions.

UN peacekeeping missions work to rebuild societies wracked by violence and natural disasters, restore confidence in people who have known little but war, and bring peace to some of the most violent conflicts on earth.

Sophia Foundation for Children

4 new feeding programmes were launched, benefiting 1,000 children in Kenya.

The Sophia Foundation for Children runs feeding and medical care programmes through sponsorships in slums and other impoverished areas in Kenya. These programmes run in nursery and elementary schools, so as to give the incentive to mothers to keep their children in school.

Cord

Cord aided over 42,000 Darfur refugees by reopening and reconstructing schools and centres in Chad.

Cord marked the opening of 44 pre schools, 23 primary schools and 52 literacy centres that had been revived in Chad, plus one primary school built from scratch, benefiting over 42,000 Darfur refugees. Additionally, 92 latrines were provided as well as cement blackboards and water containers for every school. Cord also took part, for the third consecutive year, in the One Day One Goal campaign. Cord in Burundi organised a match for young people who have returned from exile in Tanzania and now live in the remote hill villages of Giharo.

The Water Project

“The Water Project is pleased to be a part of the Peace One Day initiative by bringing light to what we believe is a fundamental component of peaceful development – access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is essential to life and when it becomes scarce, or one group of people has greater access than another, conflict often results. By working with local communities to build out the infrastructure needed to provide safe water to all, we hope our efforts also help build toward peace.”
Peter Chasse, President and Founder of The Water Project, Inc.

A new well at Bulovi Primary School in Western Kenya now serves 614 students, 23 staff and the nearby community. The water is sufficient to meet the drinking, cooking and even farming needs of this school.

This well project is the result of an intensive participatory development approach which involves numerous local partners to ensure its long-term success. The Water Project believes the solution to the water crisis will come from such inside-out approaches that seek to build truly sustainable infrastructure rather than quick-fix water points. It's hard work, but it's essential it be done right or any new found peace will not last.

The Butterfly Tree

“Linking with Peace Day helps to promote further awareness of vulnerable people who need only the essentials in life – water, food, health and education.”
Jane Kaye-Bailey, Founder and Chairman of The Butterfly Tree – UK and Zambia

10 mothers and their families received free HIV testing and participated in a workshop at Mukuni Village, Zambia, to highlight the organisation’s under-five feeding programme to replace breast milk in HIV-positive mothers.

The workshop, called Peace of Mind, was based on the understanding that if children are protected from acquiring HIV then there will be peace in homes, communities, countries and indeed the world at large.

Participatory Environment Development Program (PEDP)

Around 200 people benefited from humanitarian assistance such as food aid at IDP settlements in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The Peace Day celebrations included One Day One Goal football matches.

PEDP works very closely with vulnerable IDP settlements that have been affected by the ongoing conflict. In 2010, there was an extra need for humanitarian relief in the area due to the floods that hit Pakistan in the first half of the year.

International Medical Corps

In the Sanaag Region of Somalia, 20 health care providers and 25 volunteers were trained in the prevention and management of severe and moderate acute malnutrition.

International Medical Corps runs primary health care and emergency feeding programmes in northern Somaliland and troubled regions of Bakool, south central Somalia. These programmes help to open supply lines for much needed food supplements that aid children under 5. In Sanaag, International Medical Corps are rehabilitating vital health care facilities, identifying and treating malnutrition and increasing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services. The programme is targeting a population of more than 389,000 vulnerable Somalis.

Urban Poor Child Organisation (UPCO)

Health walks and community health screenings were organised, benefiting more than 200 nursing mothers and over 600 people in 6 communities in Ghana.

There was also a ceremony with local leaders and the families to talk about peace and cultural performances by the children. The activities came to an end with football matches as part of the One Day One Goal campaign.

Activities involved the communities of Gbegbeyise, Glefe, Shaibu, Chorkor, Opetequaye and Mpoase, all in the outskirts of Accra.

JUCONI - Fundación Junto con los Niños

A health programme benefited hundreds of children and their families in two vulnerable communities of Guayaquil in Ecuador.

UNICEF estimates that up to one million youth in Ecuador are working to help support their families. Guayaquil, the most populated city, is filled with children who are forced to work on the streets, preventing them from attending school and trapping them in cycles of poverty, neglect and abuse. They are often exposed daily to the risks of violence, crime, drugs and sexual assault.

PCR Congo – Peace and Conflict Resolution Organisation

A free medical camp in the slums of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) benefited 300 children.

PCR creates peaceful reconciliation for broken families and facilitates other to break the cycle of poverty. The expanding PCR has acquired support from most Congolese natives now based in South Kivu and continues to grow. The Peace and Conflict Resolution Organization was founded in 2004 in Bukavu, South Kivu in the DRC. Pastor Samuel Muderhwa and his wife Faida started the organisation despite the chaos caused by wars in the Congo.

FONELISCO

A free medical camp in the slums of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) benefited 300 children.

Volunteers provided a dental hygiene day to 60 children in Tanzania.

FONELISCO (Foundation of New Life for Street Children and Orphans) was founded twelve years ago to provide orphans and street children with the opportunity to obtain an education, medical attention, daily meals, shelter and a loving environment. FONELISCO’s goal is to raise Tanzanian children as responsible, productive and helpful members of the community.

Christian Alliance Against Aids (CAAA)

Over 500 blankets and mosquito nets were delivered in Bukwiiri Village, Eastern Uganda.

Malaria is a top cause of illness and death in rural Eastern Uganda. CAAA enables communities to educate about malaria prevention and distribute insecticide-treated mosquito nets, which reduces illnesses during pregnancy, miscarriages and the child mortality rate.

Africa Youth Ministries

Africa Youth Ministers and local partners ran an HIV prevention campaign in the Acholi region of Northern Uganda.

Uganda is a country recovering from 21 years of armed conflict that took place from 1986-2007. As such, the Acholi region has got the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country, estimated at 14.5% against the national rate of 6.4%.

In addition to its life-saving activities, Africa Youth Ministries, along with various partners, planned “21 days of peace activism”, in which various 2010 Peace Day activities were conducted e.g. Peace Sunday, Peace Vigil Prayers, One Day One Goal football matches, Peace Music Festival, Community Peace Drums, Planting Peace Rocks, Unity Peace March, Peace School Debates etc.

WhizzKids United

HCT (HIV counselling and testing) and counselling was given to youth attending their One Day One Goal event at their Health Academy in Edendale, the first of its kind in South Africa.

The Edendale community was selected because of the high prevalence of HIV and the attraction to partner with Edendale Hospital and the KZN Department of Health due to its dedicated approach and commitment to addressing the challenges of HIV.

Street Child Africa

50 children living in child-headed households supported by SCA Uganda united with local officials to reflect on the factors that have led to the forcible displacement and marginalisation of Karamojong children.

The children wrote a manifesto outlining what they think needs to be done to resolve the conflict in Karamoja peacefully. They also painted a banner, performed a skit to raised awareness and played netball and football matches.

The State Minister for Karamoja Affairs, District Probation Officer, Resident District Commissioner, Chief Administrative Officer, Chairman of the Local Council, village elders, and local NGO, Child Restoration Outreach, joined the children in celebrating the day.

B-Gifted Foundation

The foundations for a school were laid to benefit the children at the amputee camps in Makeni, Sierra Leone.

During the recent civil war in Sierra Leone, an estimated 20,000 civilians suffered amputation, with machetes and axes being used to sever arms, legs, lips, and ears. Villages were destroyed and many civilians were killed or mutilated.

Oxfam

A coalition of 13 Afghan NGOs organised activities in 16 provinces across the country.

OXFAM International’s Afghanistan teams supported NGOs with various expertises (communication, community peace building and conflict resolution and campaigning) to push for national peace in conjunction with the UN. Oxfam publicly endorsed this campaign, which focused on the importance empowering Afghans and calling attention to their needs.

Habitat for Humanity

More than 100 families benefited from new houses or house improvements in Mongolia.

Habitat for Humanity built houses for needy families in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Mongolia, Botswana and Malawi. In Mongolia alone, more than 100 families moved into new or renovated houses.

War Child

“On Peace Day War Child will be working to help former child soldiers and other children whose lives have been torn apart by war to get access to education and rebuild their lives. War Child will also be calling on the public to help raise awareness of the 300,000 child soldiers around the world by adding a photo of their salute to their Facebook gallery and joining thousands of others supporting the ‘I got Soul, but I'm not a soldier' campaign.”
War Child’s statement for Peace Day 2009