By AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AN acclaimed project to collect and preserve the firsthand remembrances of United States wartime veterans is set to be introduced in Africa.
The imminent replication is the brainchild of the Hope Africa non-governmental organisation and the Red Cross, among others.
Francis John, Founder and Executive Director of HOPe Africa, said, “The African programme will reconnect thousands of idle veterans with the past, to the beneficially of the present.”
He said this would resolve impeding insecurity in the continent and inculcate formidable armed forces.
Maji Peterx, HOPe Africa West African Regional Coordinator, is to start a preliminary survey in that regard.
“We look forward to more cooperation with American Red Cross,” John said.
The US Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000.
For the exercise, the American Folklife Centre collects, preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans to enable future generations hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
The centre collects stories of veterans and others who served in World War I and World War II as well as Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, plus the Iraq-Afghanistan conflicts.
– CAJ News