Upper photo: Palmyra palm leaf handicrafts, one of 46 community projects growing out of our work with Sri Lankan religious leaders.

Lower photo: An inter-religious dialogue led by Karuna Center in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

Peacebuilding in Action

‘‘

‘‘

Just yesterday, when we first spoke of dialogue, I said that it achieved nothing in Sri Lanka

over the course of 30 years – but after today’s

experience I see that dialogue can have a

real effect.”

Quotes: a Hindu priest (at top) and a Christian pastor, both of eastern Sri Lanka, after attending Karuna Center workshops that are part of our current program in Sri Lanka.

We spoke of the wounds in our hearts and minds.

There were no lies; the truth came out.”

Annual Newsletter – 2012

religious leaders in Sri Lanka are now leading 46 joint interethnic community projects, reaching more than people affected by civil war.

Following our formal recom-mendations, the U.S. Agency for International Developmentshaped their in Rwanda to promote more democratic involvement of local communities.

women leaders in Sudan

and South Sudan are sustaining a coalition for peace and democratic rights across the world’s newest international boundary.

New peacebuilders from around the world gained concrete skills from Karuna Center staff through the CONTACT program at SIT Graduate Institute.

Hundreds more community members will learn conflict management skills following a training of trainers program we led for medical workers, university staff, and police in Grenada.

160

2,200

100

Achievements:

Upper photo: Palmyra palm leaf handicrafts, one of 46 community projects growing out of our work with Sri Lankan religious leaders.

Lower photo: An inter-religious dialogue led by Karuna Center in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.

2012 in brief

Karuna Center for Peacebuilding

5-year strategy

ince South Sudan voted to separate from Sudan in 2011, Karuna Center

has partnered with the Institute for Inclusive Security to support a coalition of women leaders from both nations working for peace, participation, and democratic rights. The women in this coalition cope with many challenges: displacement after multiple armed conflicts, persecution of women activists, extreme poverty in their communities, and continual escalations of violence along the new border.

In September, we worked with women from various regions in Sudan, meeting with them outside of the country for training. Earlier in 2012, we went to Juba to lead workshops for women leaders in South Sudan. Our sessions focused on coalition building, strategic planning,

communication and facilitation skills, negotiation and mediation, successful conflict management, forgiveness, and active nonviolence. The workshops allowed Sudanese and South Sudanese women to find common purpose in their shared stories of loss and hardship, gain powerful leadership skills, and organize for their rights.

Inter-faith tolerance is at the heart of Islam, according to Muslim Imam A.R.A. Majeed, who is

participating in our current program in Sri Lanka. There is a story Majeed tells of the prophet Muhammad building a place of Christian worship in Mecca to give Christians a space to practice their religion alongside Muslims. This tale of inter-faith tolerance was influential in preparing his congregation to feed, house, and work with about 80 people of other faith groups in September as part of a weeklong volunteer project he organized to repair a local mosque thathad fallen into disrepair (photo at right).

In an area that saw heavy fighting during

the 26-year civil war, Majeed’s project rekindled a feeling of cooperation and common purpose among people of diverse ethnic and religious identities who were pitted against one another during the conflict. This is one of 46 projects now led by participants in our current program.

One Religious Leader’s Story

Reweaving the Social Fabric in Sri Lanka

orking across religious divides provides an entry point into

addressing deep inter-ethnic tensions from 26 years of civil war in Sri Lanka. In September 2011, we began holding workshops for Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian religious leaders.

After five months of careful preparation, the leaders engaged in intensive dialogues. Many said it was the first time they had spoken openly with members of other religious and ethnic groups, let alone shared painful experiences of the war and concerns for the future. The relief and warmth that followed was palpable as participants strolled arm in arm, despite having little language in common.

Now, in collaboration with our local partner, Sarvodaya, 160 religious leaders are working in interfaith teams to implement 46 community-based projects to promote inter-ethnic reconciliation. The program will culminate with a national conference on inter-faith peacebuilding intended to build the foundation for a country-wide network of religious leaders engaged in reconciliation.

A Christian nun and a Buddhist nun pose with members of the interfaith sewing enterprise they now co-lead with a Muslim Imam.

Middle East: “Giving up is not an option” was the rallying call adopted by Israeli and Palestinian activists during our October 2010 consultation, and we took it to heart. Since that time, political shifts have made it practically impossible to work jointly with Palestinian and Israeli peace-oriented organizations. So we are now meeting with potential partners in Israel and the West Bank about a program to bring small business leaders and social entrepreneurs together in joint economic projects with a peacebuilding approach.

Great Lakes Region of Africa:When violence against women is deployed as a weapon of war, it feeds ongoing domestic violence, further traumatizing

future gen- erations and normaliz ingviolent acts.We will be launching the first phase of the Women and Men as Partners in Peacebuilding program in November 2012 in partnership with the Rwandan women’s peacebuilding network ProFemme, the Rwandan Men’s Resource Center, and Men’s Resources International. Together, we will build the capacity of local groups in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to break interconnected cycles of communal and gender-based violence.

Norma AkamatsuDavid BlairElise Collins ShieldsBarbara GuthDoug HammondJonathan HiltonJenifer McKennaPaddy MooreJoseph SebarenziBetsy Spears

Olivia Stokes DreierExecutive Director

Darren RothDirector of Operations

Paula GreenFounder, Senior Fellow

Laura AndersonDevelopment Coordinator

Kevin P. ClementsMiki JacevicJack KornfieldJoanna MacyGregory Prince, Jr.Sulak Sivaraksa

Supporting Sudanese Women

Emerging Programs

all of Karuna Center’s programs on a simple foundation:

our shared need for a sustainable, peaceful future. Over the past 18 years, Karuna Center has provided people in more than 25 countries with pathways out of cycles of violence. We help people to create new futures for themselves, their communities, and their local regions by carefully guiding participants to form relationships with conflicting groups, develop new skills in conflict management, and create programs to rebuild their societies together.

S

W

Board of Directors

Staff

International Advisory Board

South Sudanese women, mostly leaders within non-governmental organizations, attend workshops we led with the Institute for Inclusive Security.

We build

About Karuna Center

A discussion with Rwandan sur-vivors and former perpetrators of genocide engaged in recon-ciliation work with ProFemme.

New Growth: Programs in Development

We rely on independent funding from supporters like you as we develop upcoming programs. In addition to our ongoing work, we are beginning new projects in areas where our skills are vitally needed, including:

Karuna Center for Peacebuilding w 447 West Street w Amherst, MA 01002 w U.S.A.tel: 413.256.3800 w fax: 413.256.3803 w info@karunacenter.org w www.karunacenter.org

Photo credits: Nayef AlHashlamoun, Elise Collins Shields, Olivia Stokes Dreier, Institute for Inclusive Security, and Sarvodaya.

In our training guide, we invite you into the philosophy behind our peacebuilding efforts. We also share the details of workshop designs, case studies from the areas of conflict where we work, and useful tools for teaching and learning. Order a copy in the “resources” area of www.karunacenter.org.

Peacebuilding in Divided Communities:Karuna Center’s Approach to Training

Special thanks to Karuna Center’s 2012 interns: Meghan Boesch, Kelly Donovan, Emily Frost, Satoko Hirano, and Laurie Millman.

Learn more about all our programs – or donate online – at www.karunacenter.org.

Pakistan: S e c t a r i a n v i o l e n c e has led to b o m b i n g s and suicide attacks that have killed and injured thousands of innocent civilians. We are planning a national consultation among key civil society actors in Pakistan, ranging from leaders of armed religious groups who are ready to exit the cycle of violence to human rights activists and educators. Participants will be invited to co-design a long-term program to promote public security and discourage violent acts.

United States: We will mentor youth in Holyoke, Massachusetts in nonviolent conflict resolution in partnership with the Paolo Freire Social Justice Charter School when it opens in fall 2013. The school pilots a new approach to inner-city education reform using a respectful, community-led model.

Business and Peace: Many of the world’s potential conflicts have economic inequalities at their root. We are actively exploring new ways to engage and partner with socially responsible businesses that wish to make peace an intentionally planned part of their business development strategy. Why wait until the conflict has started? We can address the roots of conflict now.