Inaugural Interview with Zainab Salbi

 

Is it possible to encourage peace in Africa?

It is not only possible to encourage peace in Africa, it is possible to have peace in Africa.

After all, the world we live in is a product of our imagination so we might as well reclaim our imagination. And that entails having real peace and prosperity in Africa.

Building real peace requires a lot of things that include—but are not limited to—access to education, economic investments and opportunities, and political stability, among many others.

But above all, building real peace requires a new narrative for Africa—a narrative that is anchored in the story of strength, love, and the vibrant energy of that beautiful continent rather than the story of victimhood that has dominated the narrative of Africa for centuries now. Africa has indeed suffered from horrendous acts of inhumanity: from slavery to the pillaging of its resources to colonialism and protracted wars. That reality is unquestionable and undeniable!

Building real peace requires a new narrative for Africa—a narrative anchored in the story of strength, love, and the vibrant energy of that beautiful continent rather than the story of victimhood that has dominated the narrative of Africa for centuries now.

But when the narrative is only limited to that of affliction, then at one point it becomes paralyzing towards progress. It allows justification for inaction and corruption, and the needs to be helped from outside as opposed to from within.

In order for real peace to be encouraged, and therefore accomplished, in Africa, the story of the past can no longer hold the story of the future.

Only when Africans take charge of their own narrative, a story that acknowledges the past but is also focused on the strength of African’s heart. The new ethos must recognize what has been achieved despite all odds, as well as the beauty of the people and the land, and what is possible to do by Africans for Africans.

Only then can real peace happen: a peace that is anchored by the story of possibilities. And that makes me believe that it is absolutely possible not only to encourage peace in Africa, but also to have it, taste it, and live it, as well!  

What are you doing to encourage peace in Africa?

I have been working in Africa through Women for Women International since 1997, starting with Rwanda, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan. The organization’s services are based on the belief that access to education, combined with access to resources, leads to lasting change and lasting peace in women’s lives.

I have been working in Africa through Women for Women International since 1997, starting with Rwanda, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan. 

Based on that, the organization provides women with safe havens through centers that are built for women to take educational classes to learn about their rights while also giving them vocational and business skills so they may be able to attain tangible income through various jobs. Hundreds of thousands of women have been served through the organization with substantial changes in their livelihood, including improved housing, ability to send their kids to school, and improvement of their health to say the least.

For more information on the services provided by Women for Women International and the impact of its work, please visit www.womenforwomen.org

What can others do to encourage peace in Africa?

Throughout my work in the continent, I have learned the most important and enduring lessons of my life from the very women I dedicated my life to serving.

It is because of the courage of a Congolese woman—who spoke about her story with the conviction that if she broke her silence and spoke up other women may be spared the horrible atrocities she faced—that I learned to own my story and tell it as a way of respect to the very women who have the strength to speak up. It is from Rwandese women that I learned forgiveness and from Sudanese woman that I learned to look at the concept of peace not as a stopping of fighting but as the building of life.

To do all that is possible to encourage the building of sustainable and lasting peace in Africa is an utmost privilege that fills the heart in every meaning of the word.

These are just a few of the many lessons and blessings I received through out the process of working in Africa.

I say that because “doing” anything to encourage and build peace in Africa is a blessing that one receives in the process of giving.

In other words, to do all that is possible to encourage the building of sustainable and lasting peace in Africa is nothing but an utmost privilege that fills the heart in every meaning of the word.

If we cannot respect the people we are serving, then better not to serve them.

Whatever one chooses to do (be it direct services, providing opportunities for jobs and the market of African goods, or offering educational resources one deems necessary) it has to be driven by an utter respect for Africans, the people’s integrity, their big hearts, and their inspired vision for real peace—a peace curated from within as opposed to from outside.

If we cannot respect the people we are serving, then better not to serve them.

What Africa needs right now is not simply programs, as there are already many service providers there from NGOs to multilateral. What Africa needs is investments and respect for the people and the land they live in, knowing it is only a privilege to be in service in any way possible.