Peer Mediation Workshop May 21st -23rd, 2012.
The Children’s Peace Library of Kigali has been offering trainings and workshops to children.
The much known workshop is the Peer Mediation which is done in schools especially the Elementary Schools in the area. As it was planned to have a workshop in this Month; the plan was successful. The philosophy of the Peer Mediation program is that conflict is natural process and seeks to find peaceful solutions to problems. It gives the attention to people to think more clearly about their conflict.
This Peer Mediation is given to Primary students because it is believed that they too can solve their own problems when given proper tools and this helps them to solve their conflicts without involving the adults like teachers, headmaster and parents. The skills taught here are to enable them be mediators of those small conflicts the go in day by day and later become great mediators of adults.
This workshop was the second one given to ECOLE PRIMAIRE DE KAGARAMA (EPK) but this time for grade 5A or P5A. There were 25 students who participated in the workshop. 10 were girls between the ages of 12 to 14, and 15 boys also between the ages of 12 to 16.
The workshop was carried out in 3 days from 21st -23rd of this May 2012. Generally the workshop was good though it wasn’t possible for all the participants go up to the end of it. 2 girls fell sick on the first day, and were unable to attend the rest of the workshop.
In the workshop the students spoke frankly of their normal life at school, in the streets going home and in their homes. It was wonderful to provide a space in which we could hear from them telling us what types of conflicts they face.
This experience from these children was an opportunity to understand well what conflict and Mediation are but also to know the importance of peer mediation. Before we closed the workshop there was a general evaluation on how things were done. It was appreciable. One of the children in the workshop said: “I thank the Children’s Peace Library for choosing us to be the part of this training. In it we all have gained many things which will help us deal with our conflicts. I am thankful for the food and soda, the lessons and the games which were new to me”.
The children’s Peace Library promised to hear them whenever they need help with mediation, reading books etc. We also presented the students with a football to take to their school. This was a symbol of the good relationship between Children’s Peace Library and ECOLE PRIMAIRE DE KAGARAMA (EPK) students.
We ended the workshop with a word of prayer,
Photos by Annie
Story by Baptiste.
