Eirene (Peace Service)
Eirene is an ecumenical international peace and development service based in Neuwied . The organization was founded in 1957 and named after the Greek word for peace. It is recognized as the carrier of the development service, the other service abroad in place of the civil service in Germany at the time and the voluntary social year .
history
Eirene was founded in 1957 against the backdrop of the Algerian War on the initiative of the International Union of Reconciliation and the two historic peace churches of the Mennonites ( Mennonite Central Committee ) and the Church of the Brethren ( Brethren Service Commission ). Eirene was to work from the start as a non-denominational peace organization and set a common signal for Christians against the incipient rearmament and for peaceful coexistence. The first volunteers work with Algerian refugees in Morocco. Eirene is now active in over 20 countries and has initiated numerous projects. Since 1971, Eirene has also been officially recognized in Germany as a development service provider.
Skilled workers program
The skilled workers program supports sustainable development projects in Africa and Latin America. Human rights initiatives, self-help groups and rural development projects are at the center of the work. Specialists in development cooperation work in these projects. As part of the Civil Peace Service (CPS), Eirene promotes the non-violent handling of conflicts and supports preventive measures for non-violent conflict resolution.
Voluntary service
In the volunteer program, around 100 mostly young people go abroad every year to get involved in social and ecological projects or in reconciliation work for at least twelve months (as of 2010) . Since Eirene was founded, around 2000 people have participated in this volunteer program. This voluntary service can also be performed in place of community service. The tasks of the volunteers are very different. Areas of application are, for example, in Northern Ireland , in work with the homeless in Texas or in projects with street children in Romania .
Eirene volunteers are involved in Europe ( Belgium , Bosnia , France , Ireland , Northern Ireland , Netherlands and Romania ) and America ( Canada and USA ). There are also a limited number of volunteers in Latin America ( Bolivia , Brazil and Nicaragua , formerly Peru ) and Africa ( Morocco , Niger and Chad ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ "Eirene" Christian Peace Service celebrates its 50th anniversary. (No longer available online.) Evangelical Church in Germany, archived from the original on May 17, 2012 ; Retrieved August 28, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Voluntary Services Worldwide. EIRENE - International Christian Peace Service, accessed August 28, 2011 .
