Teach children peace and tolerance - South Korean Ambassador

The South Korean Ambassador to Uganda, Park Jong Dae, has said that for conflict to be eradicated, a culture of peace and tolerance needs to be inculcated in young school going children.

"If children at a tender age are taught tolerance and how to live peacefully with others, they get to grow and become ambassadors of peace. This will help to solve conflict and promote development," he said.

He said that countries like Uganda which has a diversity of cultures with different interests, needs this kind of education such that people can live in harmony and embark on development of their communities.

While speaking during the launch of peace education program at Nakasero Primary School which coincided with the celebration of the Korean culture day, on Thursday, Dae said that peace can only be attained when unity and tolerance is shared.

"Everything starts with peace. If you teach children how to tolerate each other at a tender age, when they grow up, this culture will exhibit itself naturally and we shall have a peaceful society," he said.

The peace education program was an idea conceived by the Always Be Tolerant Organization (ABETO) and assented to by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports (MOESTS), and adopted into the school's curriculum.

The chairman ABETO, Moses Musana said that they are working with MOESTS to implement the peace program in all schools starting with pre-primary up to the University level.

"This program is intended to mold the young ones into peaceful persons. Before they were doing religious education on the syllabus but we found out that the children just study the religious books for purposes of passing their exams. So this ABETO program is coming in to reinforce that moral aspect and emphasize peace," he said.

He said that the program has also been extended to all the East African Community member states and it was launched in Arusha last year.

"It is going to help not only Uganda but the region because it will then reduce the effects of terrorism and cross border conflict," he said and added that when you want to mold a peaceful person you start with the young.

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) education officer, Eva Nakititabi said that the program is vital for the promotion of peaceful co-existence in communities.

She stated that inculcating the knowledge into young children, turns them into ambassadors of peace for the communities they hail from.

The program is sponsored by the South Korean embassy. So far Nakasero Primary is the first school in Kampala to have the program. During the launch yesterday, 200 copies of the programs' training guide were donated to the school by ABETO.