Peace Islands
The current Belgian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Father Dominique Pire launched a self-help project in Bangladesh in 1962 under the name Peace Islands ( Îles de paix ), which initially aimed to promote the village water supply.
The association was founded on January 14, 1965 (based in Huy (Belgium) ). The Peace Islands project is now active in over 130 village communities in Ecuador and Peru, and the organization is also active in three countries in West Africa ( Benin , Burkina Faso and Mali ), which meanwhile benefit more than 200,000 people.
aims
The aim is to achieve a lasting improvement in living conditions in countries that suffer from difficult conditions. This is to be achieved by improving the agricultural possibilities: suitable animal breeding, animal husbandry, refinement of products from animal husbandry (milk, cheese); Seed improvement, new suitable plant varieties (e.g. blackberries in Ecuador), improvement and protection of the soil, avoidance of soil erosion . Furthermore, the market readiness of improved products is aimed at in order to secure a basic income . In order to be able to reach a market from remote areas, people are encouraged to create paths, with the organization providing building materials or machines 99 help for self-help00.
Another aspect of the job is hygiene and health care. Toilet construction, drinking water supply and the training of health and hygiene advisors are promoted.
Not only agricultural workers are trained, but manual skills are also trained. In particular, the independence and support of women is promoted, which was a novelty in 1962 with an independent women's cooperative.
Web links
- Official website
- Report on Islands of Peace in the "Grenzecho" from January 11, 2012