A PEACE programme has helped to break down barriers within communities to bring neighbours from different backgrounds closer together. 

The team at The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation, which is our charity of the year, launched an initiative two years ago called Communities for Peace.

The lottery-funded course aims to help communities to come together and gain a greater understanding of one another.

Christine Cox, project manager, said: “Many of us have heard rhetoric about divided communities and rising tensions in the north west of England in response to change.

“That change may be as a result of loss of local industry or significant jobs cuts or it may be in response to newcomers into a community who may come from different cultural backgrounds which can seem like a threat to those who, over generations, have felt that the area belongs to them.

“These changes can make living together as a strong community a challenge.”

But over the first two years of the scheme, Christine has witnessed a shift in the way people understand what lies behind conflict to discover a more effective method of living together in a peaceful society.

Christine, who has worked at the foundation for four years, added: “Some participants have come from countries that have experienced conflict or war like Iraq, Iran, Syria, Gaza, Afghanistan, Rwanda and the Ivory Coast.

“Some participants have sought asylum within the UK for themselves and their children as they were seeking a better life.

“We are bringing them together with people who have lived in the same area for three or four generations. They discover very quickly that they have a lot in common – that is very powerful.”

One of the programmes brings eight families together to give them time to reflect on where they have come from and to consider how they might be able to use what they have experienced positively to become active members of their new communities.

For more information visit peace-foundation.org.uk.