by Brian Inkster
1. August 2010 10:09
One of our Corporate Sponsors, Tom Valenti of ValentiLaw, wearing his InkstersGive T-Shirt in Chicago.
Tom recently returned from a trip to Haiti where he went to assess the need for conflict management skills after the early responders have left and there is a lull in activity. As a result of this visit Tom intends to train Haitians in mediation, facilitation, advocacy, dialogue and in training itself. He and Alan Gross (a NY & PA mediator, trainer and facilitator who has worked all over the world) are taking steps to start a program to train Haitian lawyers in mediation to work on the existing 7 – 10 year backlog of cases in the Haitian judicial system. This can eventually include the development of community mediation centers to handle disputes at a local level by people from the community. They hope to work with existing NGOs to start peer mediation training in the schools, which in many respects need a fresh look at how to get kids into school; how to keep kids in school and how to treat kids while there. They hope to empower Haitians to be able to advocate for themselves so that from the rubble and chaos, there arises a new Haiti that provides the Haitians with a home; an education; a job; and a country in which they have pride.
Read more: Mediators as early responders – follow up and a discussion of a recent trip to Haiti
Follow Tom Valenti on Twitter: @ValentiLaw and @ChicagoMediator
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