Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is a peace building programme that originated in the United States and has had a lot of success in Rwanda especially in the Gacaca courts. Participants work to together to identify the root causes of violence and conflict and creative peaceful ways to solve them.

AVP workshops come in three levels (Basic, Advanced and Training of Facilitators - ToF) and can help you to:

• Manage strong feelings like anger and fear
• Deal more effectively with risk and threatening situations
• Build good relationships with other people
• Communicate constructively in difficult situations
• Recognize the conflict management skills you already have
• Be true to yourself while respecting other people
• Understand why conflict happens
• Approach conflict in a more creative and less reactive way
• Consider your own relationship to systems of violence
• Read more here (https://avp.international/)

AVP In Rwanda prisons

Friends Peace House works to promote peace and coexistence in various prisons around Rwanda by conducting multiple day peace trainings for inmates as they serve their sentences. The purpose of this programme in prisons is to personnally transform individuals so that they can be more peaceful and also have the ability to help others through conflict. When they learn to handle personal conflict with a peaceful mentality, they’re more likely to make a positive change in the community inside and outside of prison.

Through group exercises and discussions, participants of these workshops are guided through methods of conflict resolution. A prominent strategy of implementing these methods is through “targeting the individual” by giving them the liberty to express their thoughts and feelings freely in a safe environment.

“Being trained is crucial and living what we are taught is one of the first key of applying the AVP methods.”
-Daniel, AVP Facilitator

“AVP trainers must go through the same training as the trainee.They must be transformed before they can try to help anyone else.”
-Marcelin Sizeli, AVP Facilitator

"One can see major transformation and differences on a personal level in post-workshops. Many people come back to do repentance or resolution in their personal lives."
-Thacienne, AVP Facilitator

Follow these links to learn more about AVP training in Rwanda, East Africa and around the world
Quakers in the World AVP (https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/42)
AVP in US Prisons (https://avpusa.org/what-we-do/avp-in-prisons/)