“Grassroots Unity in Action: Funantui-Njinikom Cleans Up for Peace and UNSCR 1325”
The people of Funantui-Njinikom came together in an extraordinary act of solidarity, resilience, and peacebuilding on September 3, 2025. Over 300 community members—including women, men, youths, the Quarter Head of Funantui Mr. Muteh Francis, and the Parish Priest Fr. Collins Berynyuy—joined hands in a community clean-up campaign that went far beyond restoring the environment. It was a living investment in peace, unity, and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda under UNSCR 1325. Organized by the Association for the Fight Against Violence Toward Women in collaboration with the Community Women Peace Builders Network (COWOPNET) and supervised by CAGEAD and GRAWICAM, the event showcased the power of grassroots-led action in advancing inclusive peace.
This campaign built on earlier achievements of the ongoing project, “Community Driven Actions for the Promotion of Grassroots Women’s Participation in Peace Building through Awareness Raising on UNSCR 1325.” Earlier in 2025, COWOPNET trained 25 grassroots women leaders on UNSCR 1325, from which 15 were selected as Community Peace Ambassadors. These women later formed the Nkong-Ngengse Peace Club, which now leads local peace initiatives, including this clean-up campaign.
Armed with hoes, spades, cutlasses, rainboots, buckets, gloves, and trucks by CAGEAD, participants cleaned C.S. Funantui and C.S. Mbobong while holding dialogues on the four pillars of UNSCR 1325: participation, protection, prevention, and relief & recovery. The campaign emphasized the importance of women’s participation in decision-making, the protection of women from conflict and gender-based violence, the prevention of conflicts through inclusive collaboration, and the need for relief and recovery support to affected communities.
As a symbol of sustainability, Nkong-Ngengse Peace Club received the cleaning tools to continue leading future initiatives. At the close of the event, CAGEAD distributed cubes of soap to participants, highlighting dignity and care after their collective work.
This community-led initiative did more than clean the environment; it strengthened social bonds, fostered unity and cooperation, and raised awareness of UNSCR 1325, deepening understanding of women’s role in peacebuilding. It promoted inclusivity by ensuring that men, women, and youth collaborated equally in decision-making and action, while also enhancing resilience and showing that grassroots ownership of peace and development yields lasting results.
The people of Funantui-Njinikom expressed profound appreciation to CAGEAD and COWOPNET, noting that the campaign not only beautified their community but also empowered women as agents of peace. They emphasized that peacebuilding begins with collective responsibility and called for more initiatives of this kind, recognizing them as true investments in peace, unity, and sustainable development.
The Funantui-Njinikom clean-up campaign stands as a shining example of how grassroots action, inclusivity, and collective responsibility can translate international resolutions like UNSCR 1325 into tangible community transformation. By restoring their environment, the people also restored trust, dignity, and shared purpose, proving once again that when women lead, communities thrive. Together we build peace, together, we sustain it.
By Yvonne MUH