Some Starting Points for The Journey of Transformative Nonviolent peacemaking

1. Transformative nonviolent peacemaking begins with taking responsibility for our own state of mind, feelings, and actions.

In most conflicts, we have two different ways of responding. The first is to react defensively. Often we do this by instantaneously acting out deeply ingrained conflict scripts. The second way is to allow our true self to take action. This is the way of transformative nonviolent peacemaking.

What is Community

Community is a term difficult to define because it has a wide range of usage which includes the following:

A community can be defined geographically such as a cluster of households, a small village, or a large town;

Risk Assessment and Analysis

Risk Assessment

1. Hazard assessment – knowing the face of the hazard---hazard characterization 
2. Vulnerability assessment- identification of element at risk and its degree of vulnerability (time and space in proximity of element at risk to the hazard)  
3. Capacity assessment – Degree of vulnerability of element at risk (High, Medium and Low categories) in relationship to the capacity to survive and bounce back

Capacity gaps –

1.Hazard specific (Prevention, Mitigation)
2.Different degree of Vulnerability of element at Risk (Individual Survivability and Community readiness)
2.Conclusion either the risk is high or low

A Butterfly Story

One day, a small opening appeared on a cocoon

A man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours

As it struggled to force its body through the little hole

Then, it seems to stop making any progress

It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could

And it could not go any further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly

He took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon;

The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a withered body,

It was tiny and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch because he expected that at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, to be able to support the butterfly’s body and become firm

Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around

With a withered body and shriveled wings

It never was able to fly.