Students in Rwanda, US and UK launch ‘Action for C.A.R.’

An international youth-led campaign which aims to support peacebuilding in the Central African Republic through a mixture of fundraising, education, advocacy and in-country social cohesion activities, ‘Action for C.A.R.’ was launched today by Aegis Students and STAND, the US-based student anti-genocide movement. To find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit www.action4CAR.org and follow @action4CAR on twitter.

Over the past two years, violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has left over 5,000 people dead and a million people displaced. Extreme poverty, hunger, fear and hatred provide a flammable context for CAR’s 2015 elections. They have the potential to become a flashpoint for further troubles that could very quickly spiral into mass atrocities. There is a window of time for peace building within CAR’s fragmented communities to minimise that risk, but the window is limited.

Aegis has been working with partners in the Central African Republic since last year to develop peace-building in the country, drawing on the success of similar work in Rwanda. A delegation from Aegis took part with Government, religious and youth leaders in a peace conference in CAR’s capital, Bangui, last September (pictured above).

“We want young people from Rwanda to work with young people in the Central African Republic to help them build peace after conflict,” says Rebecca Usden, Aegis’ UK National Youth Coordinator, speaking in the short video that explains the campaign as soon as visitors land on www.action4CAR.org.

“Action for C.A.R. will bring these youth together for idea-sharing, and will give Central African youth a way to put their energy into sustainable peace-building,” adds Mac Hamilton, Executive Manager of STAND.

“By getting involved and supporting the campaign, you can be a part of the programme that will bring peace to Central Africa,” says Marc Gwamaka, Aegis’ Rwanda National Youth Coordinator.

You can take action for CAR now by visiting www.action4CAR.org, joining the campaign on Facebook, or following on Twitter.