Small Steps Toward Peaceful Solutions

Every year, thousands of young Jamaicans experience violence. Some are witnesses, others victims, but many of them are also violators. Of the 538 persons arrested for murder in 2002, 312 were younger than 25, and young people are involved in violence and crime at all levels. Jamaica Red Cross Youth’s new anti-violence programme, Peaceful Solutions, is designed to raise awareness about violence and the results of violence, and to introduce some non-violent methods of conflict resolution, among young people in Jamaica.

The Norwegian Red Cross Youth Delegates in Jamaica, Janne Waagboe and Asta Ytre developed the programme. They then tested it out at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre in Spanish Town, a centre with 120 boys between the ages of 12 and 17. Considering the novelty of the programme, the youth delegates tested and reviewed the activities and made changes where necessary until all the elements worked adequately.

The staff at Rio Cobre, as well as the boys living there, were very accommodating during this period of trial and error. Hence the finished programme could not have been developed without their participation.

Creating needed trust
In the programme, the boys were split into groups of 10, and went through four two-hour sessions with various activities. Through the use of games, role plays and group discussions, the boys discussed themes like prejudice, violence, victims and violators, non-violent ways to solve conflicts, and laws and punishments in society. During the sessions, they really opened up, shared personal experiences and became willing to see other solutions besides the use of violence. They really came to trust the Red Cross facilitators, and many would stay after the sessions, just to hang out and talk or listen to music for a few minutes.

Evaluation-party
When all the boys in the institution had gone through the sessions, the intervention ended with a party. Jamaica Red

Cross provided refreshments and food, partly donated by KFC, entertainment by the dance group Cadillac, and Red Cross volunteers. There were competitions, basketball and dancing, and at the end of the day all the boys received certificates to prove that they had received the anti-violence training.

The competition was set up to test the boys’ new skills, and it was clear from the answers that they had learned a lot! Almost all of them agreed that you can’t judge someone until you have gotten to know them, and they said that they would like to try other ways of solving conflicts besides the use of violence. This is not easy for them, as they can easily be judged as cowards if they don’t fight, but their wish to try is a huge improvement. The programme teaches them that it takes a lot of courage to walk away from a fight. It also focuses on the negative consequences of violence, and that these very often outweighs the immediate rewards. They learn that a society needs laws, and that there are many victims in almost every conflict. Hopefully this will be useful knowledge for them once they return to their lives outside of the institution!

Creating continuance
“We already know that the boys enjoyed the sessions, and they took the information seriously”, says Janne Waagboe, “they were very proud of their Red Cross certificates, and many are now in the process of framing them.”
The Youth Delegates return to Norway soon, but because of the training given to around 20 young volunteers in Kingston and Portmore, the programme will continue.

Read more about the Peaceful Solutions Workshop and the new youth groups here.