Youths in Imo State have been urged to promote peace, reject gender-based violence, and avoid all forms of social vices to foster the well-being and development of their families, communities, and society.

The call was made by Programme Manager of the Community Life Project, Celine Osukwu, during a one-day training for youth leaders in Owerri North Council Area of the state.

The event, themed “The Role of Male Leaders in Building Just and Healthy Families in the Communities,” was held in Owerri over the weekend. Osukwu stated that the training aimed to inspire grassroots youth leaders to contribute to peaceful coexistence and ensure the creation of safe, equitable, and healthy family and community environments.

“There’s a need to create awareness within the youth fora on issues concerning their environment that, if not well handled, could trigger violence. There’s no law that assigns any particular roles to either boys or girls. Everybody should be allowed to develop to their full potential,” she said.
She encouraged the youths to support one another and rethink societal perspectives on gender roles.

“The community leaders, youths, and stakeholders need to come together to address issues prone to causing troubles within communities and families. There’s a need to stop gender-based violence, sexual harassment, human trafficking, child and drug abuse, prostitution, among other social vices. We need to create a safe space for open communication that engenders unity, peace, and healthy families, communities, and society,” Osukwu added.

Participants, including Emmanuel Uche, Chinedu Uwakwe, and Timothy Mgbudem, highlighted the positive impact of the training. They noted that they had gained valuable insights into treating everyone equally, particularly women, and breaking away from outdated stereotypes.