Sadiya, a Muslim tin miner, and Rejoice, a Christian stonebreaker, would never have met if not for JPRM’s work in the region. Although they are both 42 years old, both widows, both single mothers, and both survivors of violence, their religions would have kept them in different parts of the state – or, at least, in neighbouring communities with uncrossable boundaries. But, today, they share a deep bond. Their families have welcomed one another, and they spend Christmases and Sallahs together. As one talks of her painful past, the other weeps. They told me that they first met during an exercise organised by JPRM, during which they were told to pick a stranger to have a conversation with. The women’s first words to one another were: “I choose you to be my friend.” And they have stuck to that promise ever since.