Justice and Human Rights Rwanda Project #36488

Help 450 Rwandan Prisoners to Become Peacebuilders

by Friends Peace House

Project Report | Jan 24, 2022
Update: Mediators' Physical Gathering

By Aime Sibomana | Project Evaluation and Monitoring

Mediation Gathering

On Wednesday 27^th October 2021 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Friends Peace House mediators gathered to reflect on the impact of the pandemic and the way forward. The meeting brought together 11 mediators and two interns.

The agenda of the day highlighted the following points;

Opening remarks
The lessons learned during the pandemic
The challenges of mediation work and the current context of conflicts
Way forward

The meeting began with Silas Rwenyaguza's prayer at 10 am. After the prayer, the Friends Peace House coordinator welcomed the participants and thanked them for their commitment in the mediation work done during the difficult times of Covid-19.

The participants shared what they learned during the pandemic;

Conflict mediation and transformation are among the most important skills needed in the community.
They faced unfamiliar conflicts that led them to seek out other acquaintances that have helped them solve unusual conflicts.
The pandemic has made people skeptical to come together and taught mediators how to use technology to resolve conflicts.
Due to the use of technology, a budget was needed to mediate people, this taught mediators to manage their time well and they got to learn how to use the appropriate technology while mediating.
The mediators saw the importance of having a communication platform because they contacted each other for different types of conflicts.

Challenges;

Limited skills to use technology for virtual mediation.
Lack of internet connection, airtime or internet bundles for virtual mediation.
The poverty resulted from the pandemic has led to a high rate of conflicts which outnumbered mediators who were few in the communities where they were located.
The conflicts and crime rates increased in the communities, which challenged the mediators.
The full lockdown disrupted the mediation work because where technology was impossible, mediators would have to wait until the lockdown is over.

Way forward;

The FPH mediators found that they had worked but did not provide reports, so they decided to have a mediation form that must be completed at each mediation to report their actions and submit their report to FPH.
The mediators found it necessary to refresh their mediation skills.
The participants also found it necessary to resume the domestic violence programme.
The participants requested to integrate the released inmates in the mediation work in their communities.
The participants agreed to use the existing social media platforms to shape the mediation programme.
To think about innovations and initiatives that can bring more partners.

Mediation Gathering

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Sep 28, 2021
Update: Help Rwandan prisoners to become mediators

By Aime Sibomana | Project Evaluation and Monitoring officer

Jun 1, 2021
Update: Help Rwandan prisoners to become mediators

By Aime Sibomana | Project Evaluation and Monitoring officer

Adolphe

On April 27, 2021, ten FPH mediators (three females and seven males) had a meeting to assess their role in the social and economic conflicts resulting from the Covid-19. It was an opportunity to share the challenges encountered and the lessons learned. In the discussions, the mediators were able to show that there have been many conflicts, especially family conflicts due to the current situation which has brought about the critical financial and social situation. FPH mediators were able to mediate many of the cases of conflict between spouses, children, and their parents as well as between neighbors.

In the group discussions, the following were the findings:

Mediation skills helped the released inmate to reintegrate into their communities
Today there is a rise of new forms of conflict that we were not used to existing.
There has been a lot of violence, whether physical, moral and sexual
Poverty has led to misunderstandings and quarrels between spouses, families, and neighbors
The pandemic has had a negative impact on the psychological aspect in terms of traumatism, and depression

The following were the challenges:

Lockdown and quarantine prevented the work of mediation and conflict transformation in real-time
Limited usage, skills, and access to digital tools in the peacebuilding activities
It was not easy for the released inmates to engage in mediation activities due to the fact that the wider community in which they belonged lack trust in them.

Adolphe ( a released prisoner)

“It was very difficult to be reintegrated into our communities from which we came from. The knowledge we have received from the different pieces of training has helped the released prisoners to be humble and accept all challenges they faced so that people can see that they have changed. In the very first days, things were worse because everyone was hiding and running away from us and our friends did not want to approach us. If we could not be prepared in the training we have received, we would have been depressed or done bad things that could have put us back in prison”

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