Fernand Kpossilande, who works in a game park in Benin, West Africa, is passionate about conflict transformation and sees the Justice and Peace Training Center as an answer to his prayers for peace in the world. At the time of the release of this article, Kpossilande was deeply immersed in working with the families of 12 victims of a terrorist attack, five of whom were park rangers.
Fernand Kpossilande has been intrigued by the concept of conflict transformation for as long as he can remember. So, when he heard about the master’s degree offered by Le Centre Formation Justice & Paix (CFJP, Justice and Peace Training Center), he said that he felt like God had answered his prayers.
Mennonite Mission Network, through many partners in Africa, Europe, and North America, helped conceive the CFJP program and has deeply invested in nurturing this partnership of 15 theological schools and institutions that make up the program and offer online courses informed by Anabaptist theology for the French-speaking world.
Kpossilande’s interest in conflict transformation grew out of his tumultuous childhood in Cotonou, the largest city in the West African country of Benin. He also inherited a legacy of political dissent, as his family’s roots are in Les Collines (The Hills), one of Benin’s 12 administrative departments, similar to Canadian provinces or U.S states. The residents of Les Collines have a reputation for being outspoken about politics, despite violent consequences.
“In [the elections of] 2021, the people [of Les Collines] were courageous and rose up,” Kpossilande said. “It was a blood bath. Families were broken up.”
