By Advocate Geraldine Dunn, Rotary Peace Fellow (Cohort 10), Makarere University 2026
There is a specific kind of magic that happens when women gather to protect the dreams of the next generation. It is what we call the “Maternal Heart”—not just the act of being a mother, but the instinct to nurture, to shield, and to lead with a love that looks far into the future.
When I first envisioned the Kimberley Girls Leadership & Peacebuilding Workshops as part of my Rotary International Peace Fellowship Social Change Initiative, my goal was to create a reflective space for young women from Kimberley Girls’ High Schools. I wanted to move beyond the theory of constitutional values and mediation, and dive into the heart of personal agency and positive peace.
To bring this vision to life, I invited the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) to partner with me. It coincided with IWPG 4.26 event which is a significant day created with the purpose of uniting women across the globe to promote peace. What unfolded over those two days was a powerful “planting of seeds.”
With 120 learners from four schools in attendance, we saw the hearts of girls who decided, for the first time, to believe in their own power.
We spent a portion of the day watching a video that hits a raw nerve for many of us. It showed how society subtly teaches girls to “shrink” to run slower, to be quieter, to be less confident and to doubt their own strength. To run like a girl.
The atmosphere in the room changed when we talked about the “Redo.” We watched as Soraya Williams, a woman who found her voice through the Peace Lecturer Training Education (PLTE), shared her journey of taking the pen back from the world and rewriting her own script. It wasn’t just a lesson in leadership; it was a heartbeat. You could see it in the girls’ eyes, a collective realisation that they don’t have to accept the “noise” of the world as their truth.
What I found most profound were the Three Laws of Inner Peace. My personal takeaway. These aren’t just rules; they are the practical skills these girls need to navigate challenges within their communities:
- The Law of the Filter: Not every voice deserves a seat at your table.
- The Law of the Pause: The sacred practice to pause give yourself space between a challenge and a reaction, and helps with self-regulation
- The Law of Boundaries: The courage to protect your future self.
The IWPG 4.26 International Peace Day is something i had not encountered before, it was through this collaboration i got to witness IWPGs mission of spreading seeds of peace to these young girls.
We taught the girls that saying “no” to the pressures of today is a gift they are giving to the women they will become. It is the ultimate act of “Prevention”. Stopping the fires of conflict before they ever have a chance to start.
Leadership is about planting a tree today so that someone else can sit in the shade years from now. I saw young girls accepting that their peace is their power, and their perseverance is their strength.
I am grateful to IWPG for partnering with me and for adding the peace laws to the lives of these future leaders. We aren’t just teaching peace; we are becoming it. I know that the seeds we planted are already beginning to bloom.
