The Student Palaver Management Training Project is designed to create a brighter future for Liberian children and youth between 5-18 years of age). The project is intended to:

• Teach conflict resolution skills and develop peaceful alternatives and resolution of conflict.
• Educate children and youth for peace through Peer Mediation and Prejudice Reduction in educate Church Related Schools.
• To provide a long term counseling program to equip the people of Liberia experience a new wholeness in their lives through personal counseling trauma healing, reconciliation/forgiveness and peace building workshops.
• To cater to excombatants (child soldiers) and other affected children by providing religious /trauma skills training.
• To prepare the hearts of Liberians to forgive and receive ex-combatants in their communities as well as encourage healing and reconciliation between ethnic groups.
• To form Student Palaver Management Committees in all participating schools; five students along two student intervenors from each class will form the committee.

Why do we need such a program?

After seven years of bitter civil war, the security situation in Liberia is gradually improving. Refugees and internally displaced persons are now returning to their homes to begin the process of rebuilding their lives and communities. Damaged infrastructures, including schools are being gradually repaired while students all over the country are returning to school.

Throughout the war years, the doors of United Methodist Churches and educational institutions remained open providing valuable social services. However, children returning to school (about 75% excombatants in United Methodist Schools alone) , are reported to be either withdrawn or aggressive; tribal and ethnic hostilities  in schools have reawakened, creating deep spiritual wounds. There also reports of increase in violent conflicts among students on  the one hand, and between students and school authorities on the other.

These war affected children and youths are highly traumatized due to the negative experiences that war engendered,. They have expressed the need and shown the willingness to create culture of peace.
In response to these concerns the Peal Center For Reconciliation and Renewal, seeks to implement a Student Palaver Management Training Program for Church-Related Schools in Liberia with the hope of improving the learning environment, thereby assuring a brighter future for the church and nation.

How will we accomplish our plan?

• Training of Student Palaver Managers (training for peace through peer mediation)
• Developing and managing counseling. resource library for information, research, training;
• Conducting and sponsoring trauma awareness, healing and sensitization workshops in collaboration with CHAL, LCL, and others;
• Monitoring and supervising vocational education programs for ex-soldiers and other war affected children and youth enrolled in United Methodist Schools, including the Ways Project;
• Developing, monitoring and supervising school-based counseling program for United Methodist Schools in Liberia and refugee areas (Guinea and Ivory Coast).

What are our budget needs?

A training cycle designed to train 50 intervenors in a two day seminar is estimated at US$500.00 or US$5,000.00 per annum: while a cycle designed for 30 palaver managers for two weeks is estimated at $3,000.00 or  $15,000 per year. Funds requested will cover transportation, training materials, room and board for participants.

Activities

• Conduct ten (10) 2day peace education seminars and palaver management workshops for five hundreds (500) children and youth      (50 per seminar) who will serve their peer as intervenors; two students will be selected from each class;
• Conduct five(5) PMC seminars for 150 palaver managers; (30 per seminar) six students will be selected by school authorities and trained in two weeks intensive seminar as peer mediators;
• Set up Student Palaver Management Committees (SPMC in selected schools and provide initial stationery and supplies).

Anticipated Social Change

When fully implemented, this project is envisaged to empower children and youth not only to bring about a brighter future; it will also enable beneficiaries through peer mediation, to reduce the number of violent conflicts in the schools, thus creating a better learning environment; more young people will become peacemakers and the cycle of violence will hopefully be broken.