Planting Seeds of Peace in Times of Conflict

Abongnwi is a 7-year old living in Bamenda, Cameroon, where conflict between French and English-speaking citizens is raging, forcing her to miss school and lose power more often than not. Given her situation, it’s a surprise to see Abongnwi’s cheery face that lights up the zoom screen and how gleefully she talks about her love of ballet and unicorns--her favorite animal.

When the Together Fun Club devised that “Trash” would be their next topic to cover, Abongnwi and her family and friends thought of re-cycling and re-purposing plastic jugs into planters. In this step-by-step video, Abongnwi’s mom, Lem, and the kids show the process and result!

When asked by the club members what flowers they would be planting, Abongnwi’s mom said they would not be planting flowers but vegetables—kale, cabbage, for example—to eat, since the conflict often shut down access to town and markets to buy food.

Thank you for inspiring us, Abongnwi and family and friends! And thank you for planting seeds of peace--even in times of conflict.