Legacy International has 36 years of experience training diverse populations around the world in peacebuilding. . We have guided conflict prevention and resolution between Israelis and Palestinians, Catholics and Protestants from Northern Ireland, Nigerian tribes, Georgians and Abkhazians, Bosnian, Serbs, and Croats and urban and rural youths from the U.S of different ethnicities, races, and religions.
Successful Results in Southern Kyrgyzstan
We are quite excited about the success of our training in 10 schools in Southern Kyrgyzstan, where inter-ethnic conflicts have disrupted classrooms, families, and communities. There are over 80 ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan, and in 2005 and 2010 major conflicts erupted in the southern part of the country primarily between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks.
The LivingSidebySide® Peacebuilding Program is implemented as a two hour after-school activity extending over a 4-6 week period. Even though it took place after a long day of classes, 364 trained teens overwhelmingly rated the program as a “fun” program. Toward the end of the training, teens learned to plan community service projects for their own neighborhoods. Forty inter-ethnic projects were implemented with no grant funding. 6,776 people benefitted, touching all levels of a local community– from children in orphanages to elderly citizens.
Participants Describe Personal Change in Attitudes
The comments from participants in the videos (in English /or Russian) express the personal change experienced in a multi-ethnic country striving to change and achieve harmony. Quotes are from the students, teachers, and an official from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Education and Science that is in support of Legacy’s training program in Kyrgyzstan.