GLOBAL NETWORK CIRCLE STORY

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA and ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST
Shining a ray of hope on refugee women in the Ivory Coast

Rose Lord went to her home in Pittsburgh after meeting a Peace X Peace staff person at the Gather The Women International Congress and immediately registered her peace Circle into the Global Network.

In Nigeria, Pastor Amos Wheagar found Peace X Peace on the internet, and filled out the interest form, stating he worked with Liberian refugee women in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and wanted to form a Circle. There were divisions at the refugee camp and Pastor Wheagar wanted to bring the women together in a way that would help them understand and accept one another despite their different faiths and traditions. After he received information from Peace X Peace via email, 70 women (representing Christian, Muslim, and traditional religious faiths), began meeting once a week in a Circle. Pastor Wheager helped them connect with Rose's Circle in Pittsburgh.

Communication between the two Circles became difficult when fighting broke out in the Ivory Coast in 2004. During lapses in Circle communications, the Pittsburgh Circle members educated themselves about the conditions and struggles of refugee women in the Ivory Coast. They learned that women in Ivory Coast refugee camps are often targets of violence and prayed for the safety of their sisters in Abidjan. Today, their sister Circle stories are heard around the globe, and both groups agree these connections help them maintain their faith and hope for a peaceful world.

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"Peace starts in the capacity to see humanity in the other one. So, overcome the 'otherness' and embrace the humanity in whoever is there."

-Isabel Allende