O-21 helps spread the Word of peace in Benin

COTONOU, Benin — A project aimed at spreading the Word of God and, through it, the message of peace among the politicians and opinion-formers of Benin, resulted in the distribution of more than 1,200 specially-illustrated Bibles entitled The Guide to the Millennium in Cotonou in February.

The Peace for the Millennium project is partly a reaction to the fact that many of the country’s political leaders espouse a Marxist ideology. Among the project’s ancillary aims is that of awakening a spiritual interest among politicians.

Debate, march and rally

There were several different events at the heart of the project: they included a public debate entitled The Secret of Real Peace; a 10-km (six-mile) March for Peace which brought together thousands of marchers from many different denominations carrying banners, singing songs of peace and praying; and a peace rally at a Cotonou sports stadium.

“A moving moment came when 70 of the key figures present released 70 doves of peace into the air”

Despite the fact that the rally coincided with the launch of the presidential election campaign, more than 1,200 key political and media figures turned up, joining thousands more Christians. The musicians included a blind choir, and four pastors took it in turns to offer prayers for Christian organisations, including UBS, and for peace in Benin, Africa and the whole world.

Representatives of many Christian organisations in Benin, including the Rev Daniel Hounzandji, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Benin, spoke about peace, the obstacles to peace and the people who have a duty to bring peace to the country. Three young men recited and acted a Poem for Peace, and a particularly moving moment came when 70 of the key figures present released 70 doves of peace into the air.

Each of the key guests who attended was given a personal copy of the special Bible, and more than 50,000 copies of the Portion entitled Peace and of the Selection entitled Reconciliation were given out to those who attended en masse.

A man on a visit to Cotonou from France was so impressed by seeing the March for Peace that he spontaneously contributed 20,000 CAfr (US$28.50) – almost equivalent to the average monthly wage – to the work of the Bible Society of Benin. The day after the rally, a woman who had been a special guest gave 15,000 CAfr (US$21.26) to the Bible Society – and promised to give a further 10,000 CAfr (US$14.25) every month.

Following the events in Cotonou in February, further peace rallies took place in Lokossa, on May 6, and in Parakou, one of Benin’s principal cities, on May 26. At both meetings Mr Hounzandji spoke about the need for peace and the help given by the Word of God in showing the path towards it.