Peaceful Solutions Workshop
The first Peaceful Solutions Workshop
was held 29th – 30th of May, 2004. Now, 15 young volunteers from
Kingston and Portmore are ready to expand the programme by going to other
youth institutions, and eventually by training more youth in what they
have learned.
The two-day workshop was packed with information. In
addition to facilitators from the Red Cross, presenters from the Juvenile
Correctional Centres, the Dispute Resolution Foundation, Addiction Alert,
Youth Now and the University of the West Indies, came to share their knowledge.
Facts and statistics about crime and violence, how to work with young
people, stigma and discrimination, prejudice and psychosocial issues were
themes discussed during the first day.
The second day was devoted to the sessions in the programme. The Youth
Delegates facilitated on this day, and demonstrated how discussions, role-plays,
games and other activities are used to get the messages across. Using
young facilitators when talking to the youths make the
communication barriers fewer. These are lessons learned from Together
We Can, the HIV/AIDS peer education programme of Jamaica Red Cross. Young
people listen more to other young people, especially when it comes to
sensitive issues such as sex or violence.
At the end of the workshop, 20 people were certified to work with Peaceful
Solutions. They are now planning their approach, and will soon go into
juvenile institutions. They will not lecture; they are not there to tell
anyone what to do. Instead, they will talk to the young people, and hopefully
bring about an awareness about crime and violence that can guide them
in their future.
