Owning the Peace: The Role of Self-Help Organizations in Peacemaking in Eastern Sierra Leone

Abstract

Peacemaking is a universal construct. It is entrenched in the cultural milieu of every society and plays a critical role in shaping and defining human interactions and endeavours. Every society has its own unique way of conducting its affairs, and has developed defined strategies and structures for preventing, managing and resolving conflicts with the view to guarding the integrity of the community and maintaining social order. In most cases, these have been achieved with the establishment of self-help organizations whose members adopt the principles of sharing, compassion, empathy and cooperation that are essential ingredients of humanity. The main thrust of this article is to explore the hidden and untapped approaches, mechanisms and strategies for preventing, maintaining and sustaining peace in traditional societies in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone. The article argues that the utilization of self-help organizations enables societies to transcend the bitterness, hatred and suspicion of the past and to make the transition to a more stable political order and socio-economic reengineering.

Keywords: Peacemaking, Reconciliation, Cooperation, Self-help, Communitarianism

DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/73-01

Publication date: April 30^th 2024