Looking Behind, Looking Ahead

2010-02-01T16:18:00.005+07:00

Impact and Sustainability

2009-04-21T11:35:00.003+07:00

Peace Bridge’s vision for lasting impacts is to gradually reach into the intra-personal, inter-personal and organisational domains of peace builders who will model and envision non-violent conflict transformation practices. Through mobilising peace builders in their circles of influence, peace builders will spread impacts to families, communities, churches and governing bodies in the wider society.

According to external evaluator Patty Curran: “With regards to Sustainability, there is every indication that the transformation taking place in individuals who have participated in the course, subsequent trainings and mobilization efforts will last long after Peace Bridges has shut its doors.”

The nature of this transformation is described as “a distinct improvement in the quality of personal and professional relationships of those who have participated in Peace Bridges’ programs. Pastors report no longer seeing themselves as needing to know all the answers, counsellors who are more patient and less judgmental, and Peace Builders growing as reputable “go-tos” for help in conflict resolution.” This is confirmed in over 40 stories of significant change collected by the external evaluator.

The report confirms that the following strategies of Peace Bridges that will be further refined and maintained in order to enhance sustainability and impacts:

1. The selection of trainees to be peace builders in collaboration with partners who wish to mobilise peace builders in their settings

2. Alumni ‘Practice Days’ and Peace Builders Alliance for debriefing and reminder of key insights gleaned together and re-connecting with others who share the desire and frustrations of trying to work toward peace.

3. Efforts to collaborate with peace builders and their partners to develop peace initiatives in their circles of influence including the Equity Fund to support economically disadvantaged groups.

4. The approach taken by staff of engaging in mobilisation activities geared towards helping the peace builders build confidence and the ability to manage such activities on their own.

5. Supporting the development of and training for ‘community peace builders’, meaning those who become motivated for peace building activities as a result of the inputs of peace builders trained and mobilised by Peace Bridges.

Furthermore, Peace Bridges agrees that the following recommendations from the recent evaluation will further enhance sustainable impacts and plans to develop them into our proposed three year strategy:

1. That the Peace Bridges team continue to reflect on how best to be proactive with graduates who don’t seek out their support so that they can continue to be motivated despite the myriad of obstacles.

2. That Peace Bridges step up efforts to prompt the maximising of potential of graduates of long-term training through discussions related to job descriptions, performance appraisals, “training mentors”, and the pooling of peace building resources among partner organisations.

3. That Peace Bridges provide graduates with opportunities to observe mobilisation, simplified tools for graduates to use, and access to case studies in which tools shared are used successfully by graduates and others doing conflict counselling and mediation.

4. That Peace Bridge explore the possibility of providing “advanced” courses or “follow-on” workshops for peace builders who need more technical skills in mediation than the majority of participants who, at this point, seem to require simply a general overview.

5. That the insights that come from the Family Violence Research, evolve into practical ways to enhance the skills of Peace Bridges course participants and leaves them better equipped to address conflict in their communities.

6. That Peace Bridges continue to strengthen the ways in which they go about measuring change using practical indicators and stories of change and encourage graduates and partners to do the same.

7. That Peace Bridges continue to encourage “buy-in” from local churches and consider formal exchanges with growing and influential new missionary organisations.

8. That Peace Bridges look at the pool of Peace Builders who have been particularly successful in the course and seek out individuals in similar positions and invite them and their organisations to consider the value of participation in the courses.

9. That Peace Bridges track more closely the efforts of Peace Builders successfully engaged in mobilisation and reflect with them the best way forward in terms of discreet, practical support.

10. That Peace Bridges encourage graduates and their organisations to form their own links beyond those which Peace Bridges provides. This could be done geographically or sectorially (i.e. organisations with similar mandates or churches with similar demographics).

Furthermore as Peace Bridges impacts and reputation grows it is envisaged that closer links to partner organisations will lead to changes in policy of these organisations that reflects the values of non-violent peace building. This might include consultancies that support organisation to reflect on their practices and policies.

Return to History and Vision Index

Project Affected Persons

2009-04-21T11:32:00.002+07:00

Peace Bridges recognises the potential of mediation, conciliation and peace education to transform conflicting partes to more sustainable and fairer agreements than arbitrated or advocacy based agreements in many instances. Yet it is also appreciated that these same processes can lead to the abuse of power especially among the vulnerable when seeking fair outcomes from people in strong positions of power. This is particularly the case in a country where a system of patronage often combined with passivity leads to accommodation and avoidance from parties and mediators in conflicts.

Peace Bridges seeks to avoid conflicting parties being affected negatively by well meaning peace builders by:

educating peace builders on mediation and conciliation ethics and limitations,
developing effective conflict analysis skills, monitoring the inputs of peace builders, including checking agreements made as part of supervision,
ongoing education through the Peace Builders Alliance,
training in gender based violence,
educating peace builders on the broader matrix of conflict resolution processes of which conciliation and mediation has values within limits,
building good referral networks to relevant advocacy and network building groups.

Return to History and Vision Index

Other Stakeholders

2009-04-21T11:26:00.004+07:00

The skills and resources the local community brings to this project are:

a) Peace builders selected from the local communities with whom we partner. Peace Bridges always seeks to stand alongside or behind local peace builders, rather than take the lead. This empowers and honours the resource these locals are to their community, moving away from dependence on a ‘peace building professional’.

b) Community peace builders develop out of the impacts of peace builders and then impact others in their circles in that community.

c) Locations for running trainings, conciliations,and mediations - where possible using the communities own financial resources.

d) The natural peace making skills and relationships of influence which peace builders and community peace builders already have, that Peace Bridges is able to build on.

e) The transfer of skills and values into healthier habits for good communication within communities, organisations in those communities and families in those communities.

Other stakeholder involvement in the project include:

a) The Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia, under whose auspices Peace Bridges has permission from the Ministry of Religions and Cults to cooperate with other governments and non– government authorities throughout the country. Peace Bridges uses these authorities to register trainings and other interventions as required under local law.

b) Christian missions and denominational groups, local churches, international and national development organisations, local community and governing groups. Peace Bridges partners with these groups to select peace builders and to mobilise the peace builders in target communities the groups are working in.

c) The Peace Bridges Board of Governance is delegated authority from the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (EFC) under a written Memorandum of Understanding and separate constitution to direct the affairs of Peace Bridges without interference. In turn Peace Bridges reports on its activities to the EFC and feeds into its strategic planing processes through representation on the EFC executive
d) Peace Bridges networks with other organisations involved in similar activities, both Christian and those outside the Christian tradition.

Return to History and Vision Index

Participation

2009-04-21T11:21:00.001+07:00

The following steps have been made to ensure participation of the most vulnerable and marginalised in communities:

Peace Bridges Equity Fund enables peace builders and community peace builders to draw on small amounts of cash to seed programs among economically disadvantaged groups.
Sliding scale fees are offered for participation in all trainings and conflict consultations offered by Peace Bridges. In a number of instances Peace Bridges funds transportation and accommodation for people with low or no salaries in rural provinces (though as a general rule we always encourage some financial responsibility, no matter how small).
A strong ethic that our services are primarily for the poor who would otherwise be unable to access them. This includes awareness that our business plan is focused on encouraging just financial responsibility from partners, rather than maximising profit.
Partnership selection includes giving priority to partners seeking to work with the most vulnerable and marginalised in communities.
Development of materials, training and conflict conciliation approaches suitable to non- book cultures.
Our strategy is all about planting movements into communities and circles of influence, both formally and informally. This reduces cash dependency.

Program information is shared with the community via:

a) regular visits to peace builders in their settings to encourage and learn
from what they have done;
b) peace builders sharing experiences together through Peace Builder Alliance
gatherings;
c) standard evaluation feedback sheets on trainings provided;
d) focus group discussions,
e) stories of significant change analysis and other tools to evaluate impacts
on and of peace builders and community peace builders;
f) internal and external evaluations of specific programs;
g) feedback loops to all these process through our management structures and
reporting systems.

Return to History and Vision Index

Primary Stakeholders

2009-04-21T11:14:00.004+07:00

Beneficiaries of the program are of varying types, based upon the formation of the values, vision and skills of peace builders and Peace Bridges' strategies to mobilise them to transfer these values, vision and skills to others.

Type 1 Beneficiaries - Peace builders, women and men of varying ages, usually 25 years and up (a limit in age set by Cambodian key leaders) who are selected for long term trainings by their community, church or organisation in order implement peace building activities in partnership with Peace Bridges. This includes:

150 Cambodian middle level community or church leaders (60% male, 40% female) will undertake Empathetic Listening and Conflict Conciliation Training (ELCT). (Four units a month apart, each unit 3.5 days in length).
50% of this group of 150 will be selected for Intermediate Conciliation Skills and Basic Mediation Skills Training. (Six units, a month apart, each unit 3.5 days in length).
All 150 trainees will attend Peace Education and Mobilisation Training. (Five days in length).
60 of the peace builders (50% men, 50% women) will have the opportunity to deepen learning with Peace Bridges Family Alternatives To Violence training program for 20 participants at a time. (Six units, a month apart, each unit 3.5 days in length).
40 English speakers, some Cambodian higher level leaders and some expatriates in positions of influence (50% women, 50% men) will complete Mediation Across Cultures. (Four five day intensives).

Type 2 Beneficiaries. Peace Bridges will partner to varying levels with approximately 200 peace builders and their organisations (60% of the above and 60 currently active peace builders from previous training cohorts) to implement a variety of conciliation, mediation and prevention education initiatives among their circles of influence.

The beneficiaries of this second phase in Peace Bridges strategy is quite difficult to accurately estimate due to the dynamic and ongoing relationship- based nature of Peace Bridge’s partnerships with peace builders. Peace Bridges anticipates that:

(Type 2A) 25 organisations will benefit from significant changes to staff job descriptions and related strategic plans. As a result, these organisations will transfer Peace Bridges aligned vision, values and skills within their organisational structures and through their circles of influence, directly benefiting 17000 people and many more indirectly.
(Type 2B) 50 organisations will benefit from more skilled staff already focused on peace building activities, increasing their skills. This will result in increasing benefits to the thousands of people they serve.
(Type 2C) 200 families, communities, churches and organisations will directly benefit from 200 peace builders who transfer vision, values and skills for peace making into the various networks in their circles of influence informally and semi-formally. This will include mediating and conciliating conflicts for fairer outcomes, deepening relationships and reducing violent communications. Hundreds more impacted by changes in vision, values and skills will transfer these onto others in their circles.

Type 3 Beneficiaries. – Community peace builders and beneficiaries of community peace builder interventions. Thousands will benefit from the transfer of values, vision and skills from peace builders to community peace builders. These community peace builders will then seek to do the same.

Type 4 Beneficiaries – Beneficiaries of Peace Bridges Conflict Consultation Service. 30 organisations or community groups will benefit from mediation, conciliation, facilitation, and prevention education aimed at enabling those groups to manage conflict challenges in a more equitable way.

The criteria for selection of direct beneficiaries vary according to type:

Type 1: The Peace Builders – The core criteria includes:

As close to equal proportions of men and women as possible;
Older than 25 years age;
Potential for effective transference of KASH in their formal and informal circles of influence;
People with medium to high levels of influence and respect in their communities;
High interest from the peace builder and their partner organisation in developing strategic peace building initiatives within their organisation;
majority from a Christian tradition, yet with a vision to serve people within & beyond the Christian community;
a commitment to use peace building initiatives ethically, not as a tool for religious proselytising;
Commitment to impact the poor in their communities;
40% from rural provinces, including economically disadvantaged communities;
Interest to work in partnership with Peace Bridges within but also beyond their immediate circles of influence.

The criteria has been gradually developed by Peace Bridges in dialogue with a number of key focus groups and partner organisations, including key leaders in the churches and Christian development community as well as peace practitioners serving Cambodia and the external evaluators of our programs.

Type 2: Peace Bridges Partner Projects – Selection criteria varies based on the context, though in general the principles behind type 1 selection above are generally considered, with the exception (in most cases) of a need for a Christian majority. Peace Bridges always submits to partner preferences, working more in an advisory capacity.

Type 4: Peace Bridges conflict consultations are selected according to:

Capacity of Peace Bridges staff or volunteer peace builder available to assist;
capacity of the requesting body to access help elsewhere;
levels of violence and how this informs the appropriateness of the intervention;
needs assessment information; values and vision of the organisation;
and time available (generally priority is given to developing peace builders).

Return to History and Vision Index

Problem Identification and Selection

2009-04-21T11:02:00.004+07:00

The broader conflict context in Cambodia undergirds Peace Bridge’s belief that sustainable peace and development in Cambodia requires changes to systems of domination and violence within families, religious institutions, communities and larger systems of governance. This requires transformation of a critical mass of people within various systems to a vision, values, knowledge and skills of non– violent peace making practices.

Rather than a single community of focus, Peace Bridges seeks to seed, nurture and mature individuals to a vision of peace practice that will lead to impacts within the communities to which they belong. [1] We name these individuals peace builders and the various communities they belong to as circles of influence. The circles of influence usually begin with their immediate family, yet can extend to workplace, church, temples, provinces and nation.

Our vision is to gradually reach into the following domains through peace builders and their circles of influence:

i) The intra-personal, through training that reflects on peace builders’
experiences and enables them to unearth Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits
(KASH) that require change to more healthy ways of managing conflicts they rub
up against.

ii) Inter-personal, through partnering with peace builders during and
after trainings to consider ways they can express new approaches to building
peace towards and in those around them. It is anticipated that the people
closest to peace builders should be the first to notice changes and that this
will in turn lead to changes in spouses, children, neighbours and work
colleagues.

iii) Organisational, through partnering with peace builders and their
organisations, before, during and after trainings. It is anticipated that
churches, denominations, and development organisations will be impacted by peace
builders as we support them to offer constructive ways of seeking to build the
changes they have experienced into others in their organisation and the
practices of the organisation.

iv) Wider Domains in Cambodian Society, through organisations
mobilising peace builders and other colleagues to develop specific programs to
spread the vision and values Peace Bridges has supported to other domains, then
also encouraging these organisations to support those changed in the domains
they seek to reach.

Peace Bridge’s concern is to use our resources in the most strategic way to impact the widest number of peoples and systems as possible. Our noted connection to Christian groups and their spread throughout the country is the reason we choose Christian organisations as our foundational focus. Building on our strong connections with the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia and other Christian councils we aim to spread our impacts.

Specifically defining the problems and opportunities presented within these various systems requires generalisations as we encourage each peace builder to make their own analysis and specific peace practices within their circles of influence. The following generalisations of the problem and opportunities builds upon the psycho-social picture of Cambodia’s conflict context noted above and are part of the fabric of change Peace Bridges is seeking to engender:

1. Violent responses to conflict are common in families, communities and various institutions throughout Cambodia. Peace Bridge’s definition of violence is not limited to physical actions, but includes all occasions where power is employed by another as a force to block needs and legitimate interests of others, both through withdrawal of resources as well as coercion.

There is opportunity to support peace builders to reflect on their own experiences of violence to help them form alternatives to violent behaviours (See stories of significant change (SSC), 8 and 36.)

2. Power is generally conceived as ‘power over’, employed by those higher up in hierarchies towards people lower than them to ensure obedience and respect.
There is opportunity to support people higher up in hierarchical settings, to restructure their understanding of good leadership and ways of using power within and alongside to empower others. (See SSC 1 and 3)

3. Systems of patronage lead to patronising approaches from caregivers- be they pastors, development workers, counsellors or conciliators. Generally this is expressed as advice giving and making assumptions about what a person needs based upon ones being in a more powerful position and therefore knowing what is required, rather than seeking to understand a person’s situation. Pity (which includes an element of looking down on another) is far more common than empathy (which includes deeper appreciation of the identity and perceptions of a person.)

There is opportunity to create awareness of identity and how it impacts perception as well as to build new attitudes of empathetic listening that can significantly impact the way caregivers and conciliators go about communicating and seeking to assist
others. (See SSC 9, 17, 19, and 20).

4. There are not many effective forums for resolving community conflicts at the community level. Reasons for this include mindsets of passivity, fear of taking
initiative and subservience that undermines people’s confidence in their ability and other people’s ability to take look at creative, yet fair solutions to differences. A lack of impartiality on the part of mediators and conciliators is also common as a result of bribes and political associations that significantly influence outcomes.

There is opportunity to equip peace builders to conciliate and mediate disputes when appropriate) [2] so that the underlying needs and interests of stakeholders is considered in solutions that lead to fairer outcomes than other processes available. (See SSC 2, 18, 13, 32, and 33).

5. Suppression of traumatic events often leads to an inability to consider past actions or acknowledge feelings. This can result in bottling up of emotion that ends in explosive violence or crushing depression and withdrawal.

There is opportunity to promote simple methods which allow people to process emotions and consider their relationship to thinking, through cognitive therapies and use of meditation, spirituality and listening for emotions (See SSC 9, 16, 17, 30).

6. Cambodia’s violent past has led many to disconnection from relational associations that build a strong moral framework for effective management of conflict.
There is opportunity to reconnect peace builders to strong moral narratives within their own traditions as Christians or Buddhists as well as within wider cultural stories (See SSC 10 and 24).

Peace Bridges continues to work collaboratively and cooperatively with many local community groups in developing this vision and this specific proposal. In particular our work focuses on collaborating with peace builders and the organisations they work for. For instance, peace builders from ‘Sunrise’ in Cham province and Peace Bridges staff work together on a strategic plan for this province. So too, peace builders from the Methodist Bible School work to develop plans for mainstreaming Peace Bridges lessons into curriculum for students and their alumni, people already involved in various church and community leadership positions. The Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia’s Women’s Commission and Peace Bridges collaborated in making plans for 10 week long interfaith appreciation trainings in five provinces. Planning has been informed by information gleaned from a range of focus groups held with communities and partners, as well analysing stories of significant change.

NOTES:
[1] It is accepted that there are various entry points for engagement including beginning with wider structural injustices confronting Cambodia via advocacy and collation building. Peace Bridges supports these efforts yet chooses the entry point in formation of peace practices within individuals, based upon a vision for just peace that should lead to changes in the way a person relates to their closest neighbour, usually their family, yet extends to their vision for peace in their village, churches, temple, province and nation.

[2] This does not deny the need to be aware of the limitations of conciliation and mediation and the place of other conflict processes like arbitration, advocacy and coalition building. See discussion on project affected persons pg. 10.

Return to History and Vision Index

Context and Programme Design

2009-04-21T10:52:00.010+07:00

A Summary of Peace Bridges' Approach to Community Peacebuilding

Originally conceived to help pastors and churches provide mediation and conciliation services, Peace Bridges’ vision has deepened and expanded over the last six years. We have now provided long-term training and partnership/mobilization services to over 100 community peacebuilders. Our partnership projects include peace education in prisons, schools, churches, NGOs, and other community organizations. Today, Peace Bridges is a capacity building organization dedicated to helping others develop peacebuilding and the necessary organizational skills to design, deliver and evaluate peace programs.

****

Context is always important, even more so when you are integrating peace programming into a variety of contexts with a diversity of partners. The following articles helps explain the background and context of our work. These posts are followed by detailed information about our Programme Design.

CONTEXT:

The Wider Context

Cambodia is a country that has rarely been without significant armed conflict and upheaval since the 15th century....

The Immediate Context

Christian churches and development organisations in Cambodia provide the immediate context for our peace programming.

Background and Objectives

In 2002, the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (EFC) appointed three task forces. One of them was assigned to issues related to "Unity" and a sub-committee was appointed to develop specific and concrete strategies for dealing with conflict within the Cambodian churches....

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: You can also download Peace Bridges' External Evaluation (February 2009)

For a better glimpse at Peace Bridges' programming and effectiveness, please take a look at our most recent external evaluation. It includes over 40 stories of significant change illustrating how peace education can impact our lives, from living peacefully with ourselves, our families, our communities, and institutions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PROGRAMME DESIGN:

Problem Identification and Selection

The broader conflict context in Cambodia undergirds Peace Bridge’s belief that sustainable peace and development in Cambodia requires changes to systems of domination and violence within families, religious institutions, communities and larger systems of governance. This requires transformation of a critical mass of people within various systems to a vision, values, knowledge and skills of non– violent peace making practices.

Primary Stakeholders

Beneficiaries of the program are generally of four types, based upon the formation of the values, vision and skills of peace builders and Peace Bridges' strategies to mobilise them to transfer these values, vision and skills to others.

Ensuring Participation with Vulnerable and Marginalised Communities

Peace Bridges works to ensure participation of the most vulnerable and marginalised in communities, as well as develop methods for program information to be shared with the community.

Other Stakeholders

Peace Bridges tries to cultivate awareness of the skills and resources the local community brings to this project, as well as other stakeholder involvement in our projects.

Projected Affected Persons

Peace Bridges recognises the potential of mediation, conciliation and peace education to transform conflicting partes to more sustainable and fairer agreements than arbitrated or advocacy based agreements in many instances. Yet it is also appreciated that these same processes can lead to the abuse of power especially among the vulnerable when seeking fair outcomes from people in strong positions of power.

Impact and Sustainability

Peace Bridge’s vision for lasting impacts is to gradually reach into the intra-personal, inter-personal and organisational domains of peace builders who will model and envision non-violent conflict transformation practices. Through mobilising peace builders in their circles of influence, peace builders will spread impacts to families, communities, churches and governing bodies in the wider society....

Building Peaceful Families, Project Summary

This is a summary of the Building Peaceful Families program, including the background, justification, timelines, and anticipated activities. You can also download this document in word.doc format HERE.

The Wider Context

2009-04-21T10:47:00.004+07:00

Cambodia is a country that has rarely been without significant armed conflict and upheaval since the 15th century [1]. As noted by LICHARDO “This includes the very recent history of three decades of civil war and political and economic upheaval which has had a major impact on the lives, status and roles of both women and men within the household as well as society as a whole. Significant and widespread loss of human life during the Khmer Rouge regime seriously eroded the material, cultural and emotional foundations of both families and communities. There are now fewer support systems that exist in traditional extended families or in the community, to help poor families or those with problems”[2]

According to social researchers O'Leary and Nee[3] (2001), the resilience and tenacity of Cambodian people and their ability to cope with such a traumatic history must be understood alongside the long term effects of periods of prolonged trauma. The researchers believe that ‘survivor behaviours’ that people developed to cope with periods of prolonged trauma may be difficult to unlearn, even since the situation has become more stable. They also suggest that certain aspects of the traditional Cambodian social order such as hierarchy and patronage feed into and exacerbate the effects of trauma and authoritarianism. The list of general characteristics cited by O'Leary and Nee below provide a broad picture of the psycho-social context for Peace Bridge’s work in Cambodia. This is not to suggest that all people suffer these problems, but more to understand that these are strong patterns of behaviour and attitude that strongly impact the way conflict is managed in many contexts.

a) Disconnection - Harmer[4] (1995) states that traumatic events call into question basic human relationships. They breach the attachments of family, friendship, love and community. They shatter the construction of self that is formed and sustained in relations to others. One manifestation of trauma is pervasive fear and distrust.

b) Passivity - In Cambodia a lack of trust between ordinary people and people in authority is evident in the way in which many people avoid challenging their superiors when there is no guarantee for their safety. Oppression, fear and trauma are believed to be key to this problem.

c) Initiative - Herman[5] (1992) describes how the field of initiative is increasingly narrowed in contexts of authoritarian rule, where a primary strategy is to exercise control over all aspects of people's lives - socially, economically and politically. People are vulnerable and believe they are powerless. This leads to a lack of confidence to take control of their situation for fear of being wrong and discourages people from taking initiative.

d) Responsibility - Excessive military control and authoritarian structures frequently encourage people not to look beyond themselves and develop an attitude of ignoring anything that is beyond ones own life. This is reflected in the Cambodian saying, Kbal no na sock neak nung, meaning to take care of your own head.

e) Subservience - To express views which may challenge someone in authority is discouraged from childhood, in the school system and by the experience of violence in adulthood. This attitude is exacerbated by a sense of being oppressed and controlled.

f) Suppression and repression of memories. Many Cambodians appear to suppress memories of traumatic experiences in an attempt to forget their past. People find it difficult and painful to talk of their experiences, even to their children.

g) Protection - Widespread violence, social injustice, and desperate poverty are primary factors that continue to strengthen a system of patronage in Cambodia.

Perhaps a base line survey on family life conducted by the Ministry of Women's Affairs best exemplifies the breadth and depth of poor conflict management approaches. "One third of the sample believed even the most extreme violence, such as burning, choking and acid throwing practices were acceptable. Respondents not only believed that most causes (going out without telling one’s spouse, food being late or not well prepared, children being neglected) justified yelling, cursing, and insulting, they also considered causes such as arguing, not showing respect, and raising questions about spending money, girlfriends, or sex workers as justification for severe abuse and murder”[6]

It would be inappropriate not to mention some of the rich cultural resources with the potential to support the effective management of conflict in Cambodia. These include:

Psychological and social resources within religious traditions, such as meditation practices in Buddhism with great potential to help people process thoughts and feelings.
Spiritual practices and traditions able to form values of compassion, concern for justice and letting go of anger.
Conflict responses that focus on avoidance and accommodation which in some situations ensure issues are appropriately processed internally prior to externally processing with others.
Concern to save face and show respect for those older or in positions of authority that lead to a strong awareness of the impact of another’s response.
Concern for the collective over the individual.

Yet these and other resources can be applied in healthy or unhealthy ways:

When building on attitudes of passivity there can be a tendency to overuse accommodation and avoidance responses to conflict. This can often lead to passive-aggressive behaviour that serves to suggest dissatisfaction but doesn’t address the problematic issue directly.
Concern for face saving can lead to a failure to build awareness of mistakes or to deal with important issues underlying a conflict.
Certain traditions of spiritual practices, both Buddhist and Christian can lead to everyone respecting the social hierarchy and keeping her or his place in it, even in situations of significant injustice.
When patronage and suppression of memories is linked with respect for positions of authority, it can lead people to over-rely on advice giving, a failure to demonstrate empathy (replaced with pity) and a lack of real listening.

NOTES:
[1] The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU.com) very recently rated Cambodia with a very high risk of social instability (fourth out of 165 countries) due to economic challenges, underpinned by other social factors such as unemployment, inequality and lack of trust in institutions.

[2] Lim, Jo-Ann (2006). Violence Against Women in Cambodia: 2005. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: LICADHO. Available online at: http://www.licadho.org/reports.php?perm=105

[3] See Learning For Transformation – a study of the relationship between culture, values, experience and development practice in Cambodia by Moira O’Leary and Meas Nee (2001)

[4] Harmer A (1995), Rebuilding War Torn Societies: Psycho-Social Vulnerability and Coping Mechanisms in Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

[5] Herman J, (1992) Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence – from domestic violence to political terror; Basic Books USA.

[6] Walsh, Melanie (2007). "Report on the Status of Cambodian Women: Domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking for sexual exploitation." Project on Women's Rights in Cambodia: LICADHO – UQAM Partnership. Available online at: http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/ieim/IMG/pdf/Walsh_Cambodia_women.pdf

Return to History and Vision Index

Immediate Context

2009-04-21T10:36:00.004+07:00

Christian churches and development organisations in Cambodia provide the immediate context for our peace programming. Together, we mobilize community peacebuilders for effective conflict management strategies in their circles of influence.

a) About the program context of Christian Churches

As a Christian faith based organisation Peace Bridges is in a unique position of being able to connect into the many enablers offered through working in partnership with churches, Protestant and Catholic, and Christian development organisations to bring about transformation in conflict approaches in communities connected to these institutions and also the wider communities they are part of.

The Royal Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Religions and Cults estimates that the Christian church now makes up 3% of the overall population. Furthermore, the amount of Christians, both national and international, involved in community development throughout the country is significant.

While the majority of Cambodians describe themselves as Buddhist, the Christian church is a segment of the population Peace Bridges believes warrant strategic focus for the following reasons:

The problems Christians face in managing conflict in families and wider institutions are not significantly different to the overall population. Indeed it has been noted that church leadership styles often reflect similar values based on patronage, hierarchy, authoritarianism and distrust. Additional challenges for the churches include the influence of foreign missionaries and development practitioners, often with strong agendas of their own that may contribute to unhealthy conflict. Added to this is the tension created by emerging younger leaders, with a different mindset, usually less baggage from recent history and more opportunities for education.
Churches and Christian development organisations have effective platforms throughout the country accessible to Peace Bridges. These platforms enable Peace Bridges to extend its reach well beyond the church to surrounding communities.
Peace Bridges as an insider to the Christian faith has the ability to make connection with Christian spirituality and traditions that will deepen the engagement of peace making values and attitudes within trainees. As suggested by a comprehensive UNESCO sponsored study on management of local conflicts - "training programmes on conciliation, mediation and arbitration techniques must be set up in collaboration with the key partners involved…. Training programs must be fully assimilated by the people they target. It is therefore essential to design programs based on the reality of everyday life in Cambodia and that they take account both the religious framework and the traditional conventions." [1]
Peace Bridges is having much success in nurturing Christians to values of appreciation and respect for people of other faiths. This is significant in a context where Christians often contribute to major conflict in communities through proselytizing practices or poorly thought our development approaches. Yet Christians also unfairly suffer from prejudices of others in many instances [2]
Peace Bridges grew out a request by Church leaders who recognised a need for better conflict management approaches in their churches and the wider community.

Notes:
[1] UNESCO, “Between a Tiger and a Crocodile”, 2002, p 166
[2]As an insider to the Christian community Peace Bridges is
able to engage Christians in reflective processes that deepen appreciation and
cooperation with Buddhist constituents, neighbours and family members. This is a
prerequisite to any effective interfaith dialogue and generally a great lack
within some ecumenically minded groups who no longer have influential
connections with those they claim to represent.

Return to History and Vision Index

Background and Objectives

2008-04-25T10:24:00.007+07:00

Background of Peace Bridges

In 2002, the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia (EFC) appointed three task forces. One of them was assigned to issues related to "Unity" and a sub-committee was appointed to develop specific and concrete strategies for dealing with conflict within the Cambodian churches....

As a result, several groups, both Khmer and expatriate, began working together with EFC to create Peace Bridges. Peace Bridges now cooperates as a Strategic Partner of the EFC in order to ensure services provided are neutral and confidential.

Vision & Objectives

Vision:

To build bridges between people in conflict that moves them further down the path of appreciation, a ‘fair go’ for all, and respectful relationships.

Objective:

Peace Bridges seeks to form and sustain vision, values and skills for non-violent communications in strategically placed peace builders who can spread the vision, values and skills throughout their circles of influence starting with their families and close community relations, yet spreading through wider circles of influence in their churches, communities, and organisations.

Our four key objectives are:

Equip peace builders from partner groups to be capable of offering basic conflict prevention education and/or conflict counseling and mediation.
Mobilise those we train to work in cooperation with Peace Bridges as peace educators and/or mediator/conflict counselors. This includes working within and beyond their own organizations contexts in partnership with Peace Bridges.
Develop training and resources relevant to violence prevention interventions aimed at reducing incidents of violence in families, between youth and general communities.
By 2015 build a sustainable, local NGO, with international links, under the directorship of a Cambodian national and majority national staff

What Can Peace Bridges Offer You?

1. Teaching seminars for churches and organizations:Understanding conflict, Responding to conflict, Suppressing conflict, Listening Skills, Building good relationships, Understanding healthy emotions
2. Conflict Counseling & Mediation services (Helping those who have conflict to transform, resolve, or manage their conflict in healthy ways)

Who Does Peace Bridges Partner With?

1. Churches and Christian Organizations (both local and international)
2. Other Local and International NGOs
3. Individual peacebuilders
4. Families
5. Communities

How Can You Partner with Peace Bridges?

You Can:

Send your staff to reciece conciliation training from Peace Bridges.
Use Peace Bridges services
Tell others about Peace Bridges
Help support Peace Bridges financially
Help support with human resources

Ethics of Peace Bridges

Confidential (no one will know details other than those who are working to facilitate reconciliation)
Impartial (We will not take sides with one party or the other party)
Values consistent with Christian faith
Quality training programs
Professionalism

Return to History and Vision Index