Mamadou Diedhiou, the school's director, takes the high enrollment as a compliment. "Our school district has one of the highest levels of attendance in the country," he says proudly. "And we are building schools all the time."

Four of Diedhiou's teachers have been using the Oxfam-funded GRA-REDEP peace education curriculum for the last three years, and others are learning about it and integrating it into their classes also. The teachers are seeing a real difference in the behavior of the students at Basembo Diandy: fewer fights, more tolerance, and more engagement with the faculty on school issues. The students understand what it is to be a citizen, says Pathé Diatta, one of the teachers. "When we used to raise the flag here most students weren't interested,"" he said in the school library. "But after we taught them about citizenship, they attend the flag raising every morning."

Citizens enjoy certain rights, and this is a key lesson taught in Professor Djibril Faye's class, held in one of the concrete block buildings, where there is a charcoal outline of the African continent on the back wall. The students, roughly 40 kids between 10 and 15, can name their basic rights: the right to live in peace, the right to medical care, the right to food.

And then the big one comes up: the right to an education. The discussion revolves around why some families don't let their girls go to school, just the boys. Many students don't understand the issue completely. When asked for reasons why a father might not allow a daughter to attend school, some think it might be because there is no money for clothing, transportation, or school fees.

But that is not it. Professor Faye wants them to discover the gender dimension of this human rights issue—a basic injustice based on the roles society imposes on females. "Maybe the father wants his daughter to work around the house, so when she gets married she will know what to do," one boy suggests. The unfairness comes out clearly to the students. Now they see why girls might be more likely to be kept home from school—a violation of their right to an education.

Seynabou Sène, a slim 13-year-old student, took the lesson to heart. "Girls need to go to school," she said after the class. "If my father told me I could not go to school, I would force him to take me so I can have a better future. I want to be a teacher."

As the government of Senegal stepped up its counter-insurgency campaign in Casamance, her family was touched in many ways. They were forced to move away from their home at an agricultural technical school where her father was a teacher because the campus was occupied by the military, making them a target for rebels.

"I also saw one of my cousins killed by the rebels, and another one was badly wounded," Kouka said. "So I had to live through this insecurity as the conflict unfolded." Her experience in Casamance inspired her to work on development and social justice, with peace as the focus of her efforts. "I became more aware of the conflict as I grew up and could see the serious poverty here," she said. "It was a direct impact of the conflict in Casamance."

After joining the staff at Oxfam America's office in Dakar in 2003, Kouka began working on the Control Arms campaign when it kicked off that year. In Senegal, the campaign has three goals: Support the Control Arms goal for an international arms ban treaty, push the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to convert its temporary moratorium on the trade in illegal arms into a binding permanent convention, and finally, get the government of Senegal to update its 1966 law on the possession of weapons to also include the trade in small arms.

Kouka and Oxfam's allies in the Control Arms campaign, including Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms, celebrated a victory in West Africa after ECOWAS voted to make the arms trade ban permanent in the region last June. And although a conference at the UN in June failed to create any meaningful progress in a global arms ban, the UN's General Assembly voted 153-1 (with 24 abstentions) in December to take up the issue in 2007, a tremendous victory for the Control Arms campaign.

The next phase of the Control Arms campaign in Senegal will involve pushing the legislature to ratify the ECOWAS convention on the illegal trade in small arms, and become one of the nine countries needed to sign the convention so it can enter into force.

Working with young people in Senegal proved crucial in the campaign to gain support for the ECOWAS ban within the Senegalese government. Pressure from young people who gathered signatures for national petitions helped make Senegal a leader in the arms convention issue in ECOWAS. "We turned our attention to working with youth, as armed conflict touches them directly," Kouka said. "That is how we came to the Senegal Boy Scout Association. In Casamance we contacted the Scout movement as well as other youth associations in Ziguinchor and Kolda."

Kouka spent numerous weekends training scouts and other youth groups in how to gather signatures for the Control Arms campaign, and working with Oxfam's partners and allies on campaign strategy and organizing. "If you work with students, or Boy Scouts, they are not available during the week—they are only available on the weekends," Kouka said.

But her commitment goes beyond just the practical—she wants to see concrete results. "I like to see work done correctly. I don't like to see things done half way. That is why I make a personal commitment, and invest so much time to do this work. I work with a lot of different partner organizations and allies, and I really want to build good relations with all of them. So whenever they need me I want to be ready to help them, so we can get this work done, whether it is on a weekend or whenever."

About a dozen students came from Lycée Djinagbo in the city of Ziguinchor, a vast campus of low buildings scattered around dusty grounds bounded by withered trees and walls. On a windy day, clouds of dust blast between the buildings, obscuring the walls and students walking to class in their khaki uniforms. With nearly 4,700 students and 125 teachers, it is the biggest school in the city.

Keeping a school like this running has its challenges: The Casamance conflict has destabilized the entire region, and Lycée Djinagbo as well. There are fights between students, and problems between students and teachers. Like many high schools in Senegal, students sometimes go on strike to protest funding cuts and other school policies, making it hard to finish studies within the academic year.

Abdoulaye Sidibé, an advisor to the student mediators at Djinagbo says that the school is a bit less chaotic since students underwent the mediation training last January. "Since this program was initiated, there's a lot more stability. Fewer problems between students, between students and teachers, and between Muslims and Christians. It's partly due to the team we have here responsible for the resolution of these conflicts.  When they are confronted with a conflict their first reaction is to ask themselves, 'How can I help resolve this in a peaceful manner?'"

Mamadou Lamine Diatta, a 21-year-old literature student and mediator at Djinagbo, explained how his training helped him stop a fight between two students, and teach them a lesson of nonviolence: "One student got a bad grade—and the other was teasing him; they came to blows. I broke it up and took one aside to talk it over, and to allow him to express his frustration. Then I did the same with the other. After that I brought them together—but I did not ask them to repeat their story in front of the other, so as to avoid more anger. Instead we focused on the merits of friendship and the need to tolerate one another."

Maty Thiam, one of Djinagbo's 1,876 female students, is also a trained mediator with a confidence and wisdom well beyond her 17 years. She greets visitors, looking them directly in the eye, with a firm handshake. The mediation training changed her outlook on conflict completely. "Before the training, I understood conflict existed, but I did not know it could be mediated," she explained. Thiam has keen analytical skills, which help her understand the issues and move those in conflict towards peaceful resolutions. The most important thing she has learned from the training? "It is how to listen to people in conflict to get to the heart of the problem. Always avoid telling one or the other he is right. Then create a way to resolve it to show both that they have contributed to the resolution, but also that they have both gained something from the resolution."

High school students see their training resolving school quarrels as important preparation for their professional life. Boubacar Baldé, 18, a trained student mediator at an agricultural technical school outside Ziguinchor, says he wants to create a more peaceful relationship between farmers and livestock herders, two groups who routinely come into conflict all over Africa. "I am a Fulani," he said with pride. "We are known for cattle. But we live near people who grow crops, so we struggle to find grazing lands. And there are many conflicts. My experience will help me negotiate to reserve part of the land for pasture, and the rest for growing crops, and educate villagers in ways of mediating any problems that come up."

"What are some countries now at war?" the teacher asks. The kids explode into a mass of raised hands; they snap their fingers, pleading to be called on, shouting "Monsieur! Monsieur!" Several get their wish, and the countries in conflict come spilling out and onto the blackboard: "Congo!" Then, "Côte d'Ivoire!" and "Bissau!", Senegal's neighbor to the south, Guinea Bissau.

"Any others?" the teacher asks. One student—eager to be called on but unable to think of another country in conflict—blurts out "France!"

Well, no, France is not at war, so the lesson turns to peace. The teacher asks the children to write sentences on the importance of peace, and how it can be achieved. They read them before the class, and they are as noble as any diplomat's address to the United Nations: "We have to forgive each other and be as one." "We have to stop fighting each other and respect one another."

One of the smallest boys in the class walks to the front, tucks in his shirt and hitches up his pants, and most of the class starts laughing. His smile changes to a serious look, and everyone settled down for a moment. He said "In Senegal we need solidarity for peace. We want to live in a region of nonviolence."

A peaceful future

This class, taught by Vieux Malang Diedhiou, was based on curriculum developed by a Senegalese organization: Research Group for Education on Children's Rights and Peace (known by its French initials GRA-REDEP). Working closely with Senegal's Ministry of Education, the curriculum was created over three years ago with about $40,000 from Oxfam America. Gaspard Onokoko, a committed Congolese human rights educator and president of GRA-REDEP, has criss-crossed Senegal, traveling in "bush taxi" mini buses and on foot in the heat and dust to work with education officials to introduce the curriculum to 195 elementary schools in the troubled Casamance region alone. GRA-REDEP is expanding to other areas near the capital Dakar and in western Senegal. Since 2003 more than 1,500 elementary school students have studied peace, human rights, and nonviolent conflict resolution, and nearly 300 teachers have been trained in the curriculum, which also covers basic issues of governance and citizenship.

Onokoko has seen first-hand the destruction of war; he was a political prisoner in Burundi for his work promoting human rights. Since his release and exile to Senegal, he founded GRA-REDEP in order to build a more peaceful future. Children lie at the heart of his strategy.

A tall man with a broad smile, Onokoko speaks very formally and deliberately when asked why children are so important. "If their parents engage in violence and crime, children will learn at a young age to do the same," he says. "These children are the future of Senegal, they represent the wealth of Senegal. They must become citizens who can build a country based on peace that respects human rights. Schools are an important place to do this, to create a culture of peace. Otherwise it is a lot harder to teach this later in life."

Touched by war

GRA-REDEP launched the peace education program in Casamance as it was a region at war for more than 20 years. Sandwiched between Gambia to the north and Guinea Bissau to the south, Casamance is a place apart from the rest of Senegal, a lush region of forests and rivers dominated by the Diola people. A separatist movement emerged in the 1980s among those who felt overlooked by economic progress in Senegal since independence. Separatists have used violence to redress their grievances, and the resulting suffering and poverty have plagued the region. Tragically, many young people joined in the fighting rather than pursuing their studies. A lengthy counterinsurgency campaign by the government finally led to a cease fire and, despite a recent flare-up of cross-border violence between guerilla factions and the Bissau-Guinean military, prospects for peace in Casamance look strong.

The students at Faye Coly have taken on their citizenship lessons with great enthusiasm. They created a student government, elected a president and a cabinet of ministers. Claire Sagna, who at 13 has been the minister of human rights for the last two years, says that the teachers have taught the students to learn how to mediate conflicts between themselves and between students and the faculty. "When there are fights between students, or with students and teachers, our government will come together as a group to develop a solution," she says in a very brisk, business-like manner.

Such lingering hard-line attitudes led to widespread political violence during the 2000 and 2002 elections in Zimbabwe. A 2000 human rights report described a typical incident: A truck transporting people to a party meeting was run off the road and attacked by members of another political group armed with AK-47s and iron bars. While most of the victims of the attack fled, two were trapped in the truck when it was firebombed, and died on the road moments later.

Thankfully, today there is considerably less political violence, and one of the groups that has made change possible is the Zimbabwe Civic Education Trust (ZIMCET). According to director David Chimhini, the organization, founded in 2000, helped eliminate much of the violence in just a couple of years. With funds from Oxfam America, ZIMCET established a network of local "peace committees" that have brought political opponents together to learn about nonviolent conflict resolution.

These peace committees are led both by members of the ruling ZANU-PF political party and their opponents in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). ZIMCET overcame the climate of distrust by keeping the focus on peace—something neither side could oppose. ZIMCET also cultivated strong relationships with local leaders, who encouraged the new peace committees.

One peace committee created a sports league for youth, many of whom were out of school and lacked employment, which made it easy to get caught up in violence. Another committee concentrated on cultural events. But ZIMCET's main accomplishment has been to help people acknowledge their mistakes and learn to forgive one another. "Our peace committees help people change their attitude towards each other," Chimhini says. "They now say 'Never again'! We will never beat or kill just for an election."

The process has not been easy. Tina Malowa was a much-feared political operative, but after attending training sessions with ZIMCET, her perspective changed. "Sometimes I sit down and think about all the violence and at times I find myself sobbing because I know I did some evil things. Things that I really regret to this day." Her transformation has been both personal and political: "I realized that my thinking was all wrong. In democratic societies, there is bound to be an opposition party."

Beside her, at a meeting in ZIMCET's Harare office, sits Simon Mapuvire, MDC district secretary for Manicaland. Mapuvire has also come a long way. "I was beating ZANU-PF people and I was directing people to beat others," he said candidly. "Then ZIMCET taught me that I was just beating my brothers and sisters. Now Tina is my friend and we work together, and I have thrown away that evil element in my head."

Tato Boru, 48 and the mother of five children, is a peacemaker. She leads the Moyale area women's peace council which Oxfam's local partner, the Research Center for Civic and Human Rights Education (RCCHE), helped to found.

Here, near the Kenyan border, many people make their living as herders. Droughts plague the region, and their consequences—shriveled pasture and water sources sucked dry—are particularly severe for families of herders and their animals who depend on those resources for survival. Tension over shortages can trigger disputes, as can concern about land demarcation lines drawn by the government. Add guns to the mix, and conflicts quickly turn lethal. Over the years, fighting in the area around Moyale has taken many lives.

One of several similar committees, the council Boru heads advocates for peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic groups in the region and helps mediate between them when conflicts start to simmer. There are also councils for young adults and village elders.

Giving an example of how her group works, Boru told about a recent dispute that erupted when a group of Somalis settled in a nearby village predominantly occupied by Gabra.

"There was a stone attack and there were a few gun shots, but no one was hurt. We felt it was time for our intervention," she said. "We went...and told them that land is the gift of God and we all can share it."

Accompanied by members from the other two councils, the women urged the sparring groups not to resort to violence, but to engage in discussions first, and if that didn't work, to take the matter to court. In the heat of disputes like this, council members try to visit the troubled village at least once a week. As things cool down, they cut back their visits to once a month.

Raising awareness is one of the key objectives of the peace council, and something its members take on regularly in both formal and informal settings. Occasionally, the women will ask community officials to organize a gathering of local people at which the council will then make a presentation. Other times, community events, such as weddings, can serve as an opportunity for peace teachings.

Recovering traditional roles

Peace initiatives like these are helping women reclaim a degree of authority that was once theirs—an authority that gun-fueled violence has severely eroded. With RCCHE's help, women are now speaking out about the suffering armed conflicts shower on their families. They are finding a voice and sharing their burdens of loss and sadness.

"Before this, we weren't in a position to disclose our feeling about conflict. We simply suffered with it. But now, we've got a chance to speak on peace and work on it. Our awareness and participation bring change," said Boru.

"In the late '90s, there was an awakening to the value of traditional conflict resolution methods," said Muthoni Muriu, Oxfam America's director of regional programs. "That's when the role of women in peace building really came on stage."

The toll armed conflict takes

It's a role that is rightfully theirs: Women bear the brunt of hardship when violence rips through a community, leaving husbands dead, homes in ashes, livestock looted.

"They lose fathers, brothers, and sons," said Boru, seated on a low stool in the cocoon-like quiet of her tukul. "They take care of the wounded, the children, the animals. Even if they don't die, they have to shoulder so many of the burdens...the horror."

There is acknowledgement among men in this patriarchal culture that women bring something unique to peace work.

"They are better than men," said Boru Roba, a man and the leader of a peace committee for elders.

"Women can play both a fueling role and a cooling role in conflict," added another man, Galma Roba, a representative for traditional leaders. "If men get initiated for conflict and women interject, the men might change their minds."

Highlighting the awful consequences of conflict—the death, the destruction—against the broad benefits of peace is at the core of the women's strategy. It's an argument few can refute.

"When we try to sensitize them on the importance of peace, there is no man who opposes us," said Mako Dalecha, a mother of five children and a member of the peace council. "Peace—and rain—are the basis for life in our area."

In any society, developing or not, women are likely to be poorer, less educated, and less empowered than men. Oxfam recognizes women should be valued equally and enabled to reach their potential. What’s more, research has shown that when women earn income, they are more likely than men to spend it on family welfare. And when women are educated, they make decisions that benefit their families and influence their communities.

In the pages that follow, you'll read about how Oxfam is targeting the laws in Mozambique and the gender violence in El Salvador that severely disadvantage women. You'll also learn how Oxfam is equipping women to mediate peace in West Africa and to grow the income of their families. In every case, when it comes to empowering women, men are an equal part of the equation. Oxfam is striving to shape societies that not only permit women to be contributors, but societies that recognize that if they don't seize upon what women can offer, they are failing to leverage one of their most valuable assets.

When's the last time a small-farm family called it quits and had to sell their land for development? Probably yesterday or the day before.

There's no coincidence here. The loss of truly fresh fruits and vegetables, grown for their taste, and the loss of farmland and small-scale farmers are two faces of the same coin. In this issue of EXCHANGE, we meet Michael Rozyne, founder and managing director of Oxfam partner Red Tomato.

Also in this issue, ethnic discrimination in Guatemala—and the Mayan defense. Plus, how community radio is engaging Senegal's youth, and the humanitarian imperative of land mine clearance in war-torn Afghanistan.

For a Safer Tomorrow: Protecting Civilians in a Multipolar World warns that the safety of civilians throughout the world will be in jeopardy unless these emerging and existing global powers work together to better protect all civilians from falling victim to conflict through genocide and other atrocities.

?The next President of the United States will take office 60 years after the Geneva Conventions of 1949 enshrined the right of civilians to be protected in times of armed conflict. Yet the fundamental principle that civilians should be protected from violence and abuse in warfare is violated in every current conflict,? said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

According to the report, there is an opportunity for change. For a Safer Tomorrow is based on Oxfam?s experience responding to the world?s conflicts for more than 60 years. It reviews the protection of civilians in current and recent conflicts, and examines the implications of the shift in global power. It sets out an agenda to protect civilians through local, national and regional action with far more consistent international support.

Examples from the last year show that violence against civilians can be prevented by organized local, regional, and international efforts. For example, in January 2008 Kenya did not collapse into bloody civil war, partly because of local community action to prevent widespread outbreaks of violence as well as efforts by African and international leaders to restore peace.

?The wars in Darfur and Afghanistan have shown us that the political will to stop violence to civilians is not enough? said Offenheiser. ?The will to act must be coupled with capable institutions, wise prioritization, and international cooperation.?

According to the report, the war on terror has overshadowed crises like the Democratic Republic of Congo which has lost 5.4 million people?eight per cent of its population?to conflict and the deadly hunger and disease that it has unleashed since 1998. This year, more than a thousand women a month have reported being raped, many as part of a systematic campaign linked to the conflict.

"Americans sympathize with those who suffer atrocities, but many feel impotent to do anything about it. This powerlessness seems justified as multiple presidents have promised ?never again? after mass civilian deaths in the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Srebrenica but failed to follow this rhetoric with concrete action,? said Offenheiser. ?The next president of the US will soon enter the Oval Office. It?s time to prove that the US can make a real impact in ending the atrocities that are still too common in conflicts around the world.?

To protect civilians caught up in armed conflict and improve global peace and stability, Oxfam is calling on the United States to:

• make the safety of civilians the overriding priority in the response to conflicts
• vigorously invest in diplomacy and civilian conflict response
• adopt zero tolerance of war crimes—whether by its own forces or others
• act much more quickly to tackle the trends that threaten new or prolonged
• conflicts—including poverty and inequality, climate change and arms proliferation; and
• prioritize the protection of civilians, not only counterterrorism, in security assistance programs.

"Delay is not an option. The international community must provide support and assistance to the new coalition government,? said Charles Abani, Regional Director for of Oxfam in Southern Africa. ?Assistance must be carefully coordinated and managed, so that very weak state institutions are not overstretched. Zimbabwean civil society must also be included in a transparent process.?

Ordinary Zimbabweans are desperately short of food, health care, clean water and safe sanitation. The little food that is available is unaffordable to most. An estimated 3.8 million people are anticipated to be in urgent need of food assistance by October. Life expectancy for women is just 35 years, and unemployment stands at 85 per cent.

Investment in agriculture is key. Farmers need fertilizers and seeds urgently, so that they can prepare for the November planting season.

"The international community must not just throw money at this problem then walk away and say 'job done'. Zimbabwe needs a long-term plan, built on partnership and shared responsibilities, and supported by long-term, predictable aid from international governments,? said Abani.

?It is also important that the Zimbabwe government meets its commitments to rebuilding the nation. The coalition government must show leadership in the rebuilding process if international support is to succeed. They should ensure equitable and effective access to humanitarian assistance, extend the operational space for all civil society organizations, and deal quickly with outstanding registration issues for NGOs,? Abani added.

?Many local and international organizations who want to get back to helping poor people in Zimbabwe are still unable to do so because their registration status is pending. We urge the new government to facilitate the registration process in the interest of Zimbabweans in need of assistance.?

“The Bush Administration must do all that it can to support President Kabila in his efforts to address the longstanding conflict which is once again threatening the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

“The Administration must continue its crucial mediation role to ensure that the legitimate concerns of Congolese citizens are addressed. Both Presidents must make it clear that they will not allow the progress made over the past few years to be jeopardized by renewed fighting,” said Offenheiser.

The election of President Kabila in 2006 brought hopes of peace and stability after decades of misrule and a civil war which claimed the lives of approximately four million civilians and led to the displacement of over one million people. Despite the success of the elections, the continued fighting in the east between rebel groups and government forces is a threat to the tenuous peace in the DRC—one of the world’s poorest countries. The DRC ranks 141st out of 174 countries in the United Nation’s human development ranking.

Since last December, the intense fighting has forced over 370,000 people to leave their homes in the eastern region of North Kivu, the largest surge of internal displacement since the formal end of the civil war in 2003. Unlike displacements in the past, the scale of the latest influx is too great for the displaced to be accommodated by local families.

Meanwhile, increased fighting and insecurity have also severely limited the ability of humanitarian agencies like Oxfam to deliver vital aid to civilians in need.

As the conflict intensifies, growing numbers of civilians are placed in imminent physical danger and serious violations of international humanitarian law continue. These include the recruitment of children by rebel forces, the reported use of forced labor by the national army, and an epidemic of violence against women that is among the worst in the world. A 2004 survey found mortality rates in some parts of the country to be close to 3 times the sub-Saharan average, partly from ongoing conflict but also due to disease, malnutrition, and lack of very basic social services.

In the face of the worsening security and humanitarian situation in DRC, Oxfam also called on the US government to maintain its support for a robust UN military presence while increasing its funding and technical assistance to the reform of Congo’s military forces. Tasked with the mandate to protect civilians, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUC), receives one third of its operating budget from the US government. With the mission’s funding up for renewal in December, it is crucial that President Bush pledges to continue his administration’s support.

“Without a substantial and effective MONUC presence, the DRC’s fragile peace could quickly unravel completely, further threatening not only the Congolese people but also the wider region. Until the DRC’s police, military, and judiciary are able to effectively enforce the law and protect civilians, US support for both the mandate and operations of the UN peacekeeping mission there is absolutely vital,” said Offenheiser.