SCHOOL PEACE CLUB

FAMBUL TOK 2014

Micheala at Chiefdom Dialog

After attending more Stakeholders meetings and Chiefdom Dialogs in Pujehun and Moyamba, we visited a school in Pujehun that has students involved with Fambul Tok.  They are called Peace Makers and are members of a Wan Fambul (One Family) Peace Club.

Fambul Tok has 5 schools in each of 6 districts for the first year of the project.  The clubs are limited to 50 students to start.  The facilitators of the clubs hold meetings several times a week and give guidance and training to the members in intervention techniques and peace making activities for both at school and at home.

Banner

When we arrived at the school the Peace Makers and their facilitator were all gathered under trees awaiting us.  Once we said hello, they started to sing for us.  As I watched their faces and listened to their song it was all I could do not to cry it was so touching.

Next they acted out a skit about domestic violence and how they as Peace Maker children could intervene to diffuse the confrontation.

The skit depicted a man coming home to find his wife gone.  The wife enters to find the man staring at some bags the wife has left after her shopping.  He begins to shout at her asking where she was and why was she not fixing his dinner. 

Domestic Skit

They begin to tussle and are hitting each other on their backs and arms so hard we can hear the blows!!! Then a neighbor comes in to stop the fight and their child appears.  The child sits down with her parents and explains that this behavior makes her very sad and embarrassed.  She gets them to agree to forgive each other and to trust one another in the future.

While this skit is going on, one of the girls watching has a rag over her eyes so she cannot see the action.  She is cringing as the blows land.  It is possible this has happened in her family and is hard for her to watch this enactment.

Mohamed & Elizabeth

We ask for an example of the type of intervention to achieve peace that has happened in this school.  The facilitator, Mohamed, tells of a student who owned a book (owning  a book is not easy and very hard to buy) the teacher wanted to borrow.  The student let the teacher have it to read and the teacher lost the book.  The student reported the incident to the principle.  When the teacher was chastised by the principle, he began to take it out on the student for exposing his deed to the principle.  The president of the Peace Club got his facilitator involved and was encouraged to intervene.  The Peace Maker did and was able to diffuse the conflict and reach an agreement.

This is a BIG deal as the teachers often flog the children for the slightest provocation and are greatly feared.  It is the aim of the Fambul Tok Peace Clubs to bring about a calmer environment at school and home that will change behavior over time.

Holding Up Bracelets

After the presentations were finished I presented them with rubber bracelets made by Chloe and Landon Coonrod on a Rainbow Loom.  They were very thankful and enjoyed picking out the bracelet that appealed to them.  The most popular ones were the ones including the glow-in-the-dark bands.

Holding Up Bracelets

I told the students the bracelets were made to thank them for their efforts in bringing peace to their schools and homes.  I said that Chloe and Landon are very proud of them.

More Bracelets

I will be visiting more schools and will hand out the bracelets Sarah Mufson and her friends made reading the message Sarah sent with the bracelets.  There will be a blog bout that as well.

You should know, Africans smile after the picture is taken!  Trying to get them to smile for the picture is a challenge. ;-)

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara