This year the organization Ba Futuru will focus on working with secondary schools at risk of conflict rather than training young people in the villages about peace building.
Ba FuturuDirector Joana da Cruz said their peace building program started in 2006 when there were internally displaced people in the nation.
She said they gave training on peace building, analysing conflict, preventing conflict and resolving conflict without violence to about 25,000 young people, police and teachers in areas at risk of conflict like Tasitolu, Bairo Pite, Becora and Comoro.
“Now our projects are not running for young people in the villages, but we’re focusing especially on secondary schools,” said Director da Cruz in Dili.
In regards to their peace education, she said they could not guarantee the results because it takes time to change behaviour and it depends on people managing their anger.
According to her, the secondary schools targeted in the program are Nicolau Lobato, Rainha da Paz, Finantil and 10th December Secondary Schools because they are at risk of conflict.
Meanwhile, Comoro resident Martinho da Silva said training could control young people in the villages but said it depended on everyone controlling themselves, as change isn’t easy.
“The training could be done but it depends on everyone controlling themselves, especially young men,” said da Silva.
Therefore, he called on local authorities to coordinate properly with the police so they could quickly respond to troublesome youths who like to create problems in the neighbourhood.
Meanwhile Fatuhada Village Chief Marcelino Soares said as local authorities they supported the police and the F-FDTL paying attention to young men who create problems.
