Eirene International.

Eirene is an international ecumenical organisation working for peace and development. It was created in 1957 in Chicago, but later installed its head office in Neuwied, Germany. It began its activities in Burundi in early 2000, collaborating with a local association called Nduwamahoro-Le Non Violent Actif to help rural communities resolve conflict peacefully. Their primary activities are training sessions on conflict transformation, non-violent communication and mediation. In the mean time this local association has been joined by two other local associations, l’Association pour la Paix, la Réconciliation et le Développement Durable (APRDD) and CHIRO, in a project called ‘Amahoro’.

Amahoro (’Peace’) Project

The aim of the Amahoro project is to strengthen the capacity of communities to resolve conflicts peacefully, particularly around the return of internally displaced people and conflicts around landownership. The project involves a series of workshops and training exercises that involve local people directly and trains them in peaceful conflict resolution and prevention – providing the skills to avoid and resolve violent conflicts independently. In preparation for general elections in 2010, project organised a series of workshops on citizen education, democratic participation and electoral processes. Lately, the project has been concentrating its efforts in the three most southern provinces of Makamba, Bururi and Rutana.