In September and October of 2015, CPT organised and ran three 6 day basic training courses in mediation skills – one for CPT team members, one for STEP (Seeking to Equip People) Child Protection Unit staff who work in IDP (internally displaced persons) and refugee camps, and one for a REACH women’s group project in the nearby village of Baynjan. These workshops were facilitated by Marcus Armstrong, a CPT reservist.

Marcus returned in March 2016 to continue the joint project – this time funded by CPT, STEP and the UN. The photograph above shows the STEP Child Protection Unit staff during their 4 day follow-up training in Suleimani.

Over the 4 days the attendees covered a wide variety of topics, including: exploring the joys and challenges of working as a mediator, cultural and other issues affecting the mediators, workshops on forgiveness, identity and embracing life, and a session on looking ahead to what the team will need in the future. It was a vibrant, deeply reflective and exciting few days, punctuated with lots of laughter, a few tears and much intense sharing along the way.

After this 4 day follow-up, Marcus facilitated another 6 day basic training in mediation for staff from STEP and other local partners, including some STEP managers.

It is hoped that when the mediators have gained enough experience and built their confidence, they will be trained as trainers in order to roll out the project more extensively in the region.

Oil companies continue to steal and destroy land  On 29th February 2016 two CPT team members – Julie and Mohammed – went to Hajji Ahmed to meet with Kak Miro, the village leader. Villagers have been struggling to maintain their land rights and have also been trying to gain adequate compensation for lands already confiscated by Exxon Mobil. CPT has been helping to raise the voices of villagers since August 2013. Julie and Mohammed wrote: “We arrived mid-morning and stopped in front of Kak Miro’s home which overlooks the small village of Hajji Ahmed. Kak Miro greeted us with a warm welcome and walked with us to the entrance of his home stopping to show us his garden and sharing plans for where he will be planting new trees this spring.  After that he invited us inside where his wife brought us tea and Kak Miro began to update us on the current situation. Read more in our blog   ALTERNATIVES TO VIOLENCE PROJECT   CPT, along with STEP, delivered two Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops in the first week of March. AVP workshops give the participants tools with which to transform violence and unbalanced power dynamics in their everyday lives. CPT team members were very happy to have the opportunity to train around 36 participants from different backgrounds. Some of them were refugees from Syria, some IDP`s from other parts of Iraq such as Yazidis, Christians and Arabs and a few were from the Iraqi Kurdish host community. At the end of the three day workshops, participants expressed their hopes of having more of this type of training in the future. As one participant from the city of Qamishlo in Syria said; “I would love to become an AVP trainer”.          Learn more, connect with us and get involved. Click on the links below Website Email Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube   Currently, our team needs a new oven,as the old one is not very functional. It is constantly burning our food and using extra power. A new functional oven costs $300 in Iraqi Kurdistan. Please, click on this link to help us buy a new oven. Put “oven” in the description. We need your support. Thank you very much!   Mission: Christian Peacemaker Teams: Building partnerships to transform violence and oppression. Vision: A world of communities that together embrace the diversity of the human family and live justly and peaceably with all creation. Values: Christian Peacemaker Teams is committed to work and relationships that: Honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality; Strengthen grassroots initiatives; Transform structures of domination and oppression; Embody creative non-violence and liberating love. www.cpt.org https:https://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpghttps://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpgchristianpeacemakerteams.mystagingwebsite.comhttps://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpgwp-contenthttps://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpguploadshttps://cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0316-2.jpgIMG_0316-2.jpg unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences    Share Tweet Forward +1 Share Categories Iraq Kurdistan Subscribe to the Friday Bulletin Get Hannah’s thoughts and the entire bulletin every Friday in your inbox, and don’t miss out on news from the teams, a list of what we’re reading and information on ways to take action. First Name Last Name Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Subscribe Read More Stories Is it Worth It? Ameera Al-Rajabi Taking photos isn’t just a job—it’s our way to resist, exist, preserve our history, and keep our story alive. Demolitions in Masafer Yatta continue unabated B.O.S Even the tents that families take refuge in after their homes are demolished are not spared from destruction. Palestinians often tear down their tents, fearing that settlers will attack at night with Molotov cocktails.  Apache Stronghold Day of Prayer CPT Turtle Island Solidarity Network On July 11th, 2024, the Apache Stronghold started the journey of prayer to the Supreme Court to stop the shattering of human existence and to Manage Cookie Consent To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. 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