Emily Bowman is the former Connecting Peoples Coordinator in Honduras. In the photo, children practice a relaxation and breathing technique for de-stressing, led by Damaris Guaza Sandoval and the mediators
A group of nervous 5th graders gathers outside a noisy classroom at the Centro Educativo Básico Francisco Morazán in La Ceiba, Honduras. Damaris Guaza Sandoval, a YAMENer from Colombia, hands out slips of paper to each child containing the information that they will be responsible to present to the class. After Damaris provides a few pointers and encouragement, everyone enters the room, full of more than 45 fourth graders. The students are giving a workshop on Stress Management. The workshop is part of a 7-part series (called Encounters) presented to school children as part of the work of MCC Honduras partner el Proyecto Paz y Justicia (PPyJ, or the Peace and Justice Project). Topics include Bullying, Stress and Self-Esteem, among others.
PPyJ provides the trainings to all students in 4th grade, then selects a few of the students to be mediators for their schools. Part of the role of being a mediator is overseeing the replicas of the information to the incoming 4th graders, when the mediators enter 5th and 6th grade. PPyJ hopes that these Encounters can help the children learn violence prevention and coping skills to deal with the stresses of their daily lives. Many live in high conflict areas and these trainings can help the children find alternatives to violence. Teaching them conflict mediation skills also gives them responsibility to find non-violent solutions in their schools and communities.
“I used to fight a lot in my barrio, there are lots of boys who pull the hair of us girls and I would fight back. Now I also know how to intervene in a non-violent way to help other girls and to talk instead of fight.” says one of the mediators, Sarahi Martinez, mentioning that that training has helped her to know how to respond to tough situations in the barrio where she lives.
The children say that their favorite topic to learn about and teach is Bullying. “We are bullied every day. But now we know how to respond and how to take care of others as well,” says Escarleth Enamorado.
“It is fun to teach the other students! We can pass on our knowledge and share with each other,” says Josué Calero. “Kids are different when they learn about these topics. They all treat each other better.”
From left to right: Josué Calero, Escarleth Enamorado, Roxana Riva, unknown, Sarahi Martinez, Damaris Guaza Sandoval, Luiche Rohichell Diaz.