UPDATE: Building Peace Authors Share Struggles and Successes of Fighting Ebola in The Guardian

(Photo Credit: Purdue Peace Project)

We are pleased to announce two Building Peace authors have been published in The Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network on October 15, 2014. The article, titled “Ebola and civil unrest in Liberia: how bikers are keeping the peace,” highlights the struggles, successes, and perspectives of on-the-ground peacebuilders and civil society actors working at the frontlines of the Ebola crisis in Monrovia, Liberia.

Nat B. Walker has been in Liberia since the outbreak working with Trust Africa and Humanity United to educate rural populations about Ebola. He addresses the work being done by the Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) Working Group, an early response system currently being applied to contain the Ebola virus. Read Nat’s original blog post in our Latest Insights.

Stacey Connaughton, Director of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP), and Kai Kuang, Research Assistant at PPP, provide an insightful update on the Pen-Pen Peace Network, a group of former combatants, motorcycle taxi drivers, police, and community members focused on peacebuilding and reconstruction in post-war Monrovia. The Pen-Pen Peace Network, with the support of the ministries of transport, health, and social services, has successfully led a community-driven public awareness campaign to educate citizens about the virus. Read Stacey’s and Kai’s, and Grace Yeanay Mayson’s original article in “Conflicts of the Future.”

Additionally, Grace Yeanay Mayson, Executive Director of Women Movement for Sustainable Development in Liberia, was recently featured in a BBC World Service radio broadcast. Grace shares an update on the work of the Pen-Pen Peace Network and talks about the changing dynamic of the relationship between pen-pen drivers and local communities since the Ebola crisis.