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Addressing the Root Causes of Violence & Conflict
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Peace Room at one of HTAC’s model schools
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For almost 30 years, Afghan children have been the innocent victims of a never-ending cycle of violence, conflict and terror. HTAC believes that the best way to address the root causes of violence is to educate a new generation of Afghans who will embrace the principles of peace and work hard (as adults), to break this vicious cycle.
Our Peace Education Program has three key components: 1) teaching basic concepts of peace, including non-violent conflict resolution to children; 2) training teachers to model peace education concepts in the classroom; and 3) involving children in projects and other activities that reinforce these concepts.
Most crucial in the peace education process is for Afghan children to understand and learn about alternative ways to solve conflict since the majority of them have only seen violence as the only solution. Our curriculum focuses on helping children deal with the emotions and consequences of: anger, fear, fighting, and sadness while embracing such qualities as: patience, apologizing, bravery, sympathy, mediation and satisfaction.
Essential to peace education is the establishment of peace rooms in every school where our program operates. Peace rooms are welcoming, stimulating and safe places where students can apply what they have learned in class to work on meaningful projects related to peace and resolve their differences in non-violent means.
Since initiating this ground-breaking program in 2002, we have seen remarkable changes in students’ behaviors in embracing the principles of non-violent conflict resolution and their improved self-esteem. Peace education is one example of how HTAC is introducing Afghan children to a new way of living in the world and learning the value of striving for peaceful solutions to problems.
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Building Civil Society through Education
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