HTAC's Mission of Mercy - News - Help the Afghan Children

A Non-Profit Organization - Established 1993

The ability to live in peace is the foundation upon which a civil society is built. And in Afghanistan, children are the pillars of that foundation. Gandhi once said, “If we are to have real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with children.” This philosophy is echoed in the curricula of Peace Education; and reflected in Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) where it states, “the education of the child shall be directed to the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all people.” It is based on this philosophy that for the last two years, Help the Afghan Children has been piloting a Peace Education Program (PEP) within its sponsored schools in Afghanistan.
The PEP program focuses on three types of intervention: a) direct teaching of conflict resolution

concepts to children, b) training teachers in peace education, and c) establishingand c) establishing peace centers in schools. The direct teaching aspect of the program entails a multi-level peace education curriculum. The curriculum focuses on teaching the children the following 17 key concepts in conflict resolution: truth, patience, lying, satisfaction, anger, fear, sadness, bravery, forgiveness, apologizing, happiness, sympathy, fighting, mediation, recommendation, unity, and peace. We also train teachers on the topic of teaching peace education and incorporating conflict resolution techniques in their classrooms. The training concentrates on learning key concepts in peace education, dealing with conflict situations in the classroom, and understanding the psychological needs of children. Finally, we seek to setup peace education centers in our schools. The centers serve as “peace rooms” where children can resolve their differences. The management structure includes two trained teachers who are aided by a group of student peer mediators. The teachers and students in the centers serve as facilitators in resolving problems between students through role play, consultation and mediation techniques.