Originally published at www.mwangazapartnership.org. Reprinted with permission.

Non-violence is at the center of everything Mwangaza does. An important piece of that is nonviolent communication (NVC). NVC is a communication approach centered on connection, understanding, and empathy. It was developed by Marshall Rosenberg in the 1960s. Today, it is taught worldwide and is a key tool in Mwangaza’s curriculum.

Mwangaza trains teachers in NVC throughout the year. In April, they were joined by Dr. Gitta Zimmermann and Jacqueline Muller, certified trainers from the Center for Nonviolent Communication. Both trainers have worked in African countries teaching NVC for 15 years.

This was a special, six-day training that included 10 teachers from five different schools. The training offered the four steps of NVC - observations, feelings, needs, and requests - and then focused on NVC in the context of working with children. The training emphasized play and interaction while discussing topics like managing anger, the effects of punishment, and rewards. Teachers learned about conflict resolution and empathy for oneself, students, and parents.

“I’ve worked with teachers for about 19 years,” Dr. Gitta Zimmermann shares. “Teachers are the group that takes the longest to learn about NVC, because they are educated to evaluate students. And this makes life for them very difficult not to judge and evaluate. This is a new world for them. It takes a lot of energy to guide teachers to change, and because they are working with children, I put my energy into it with joy. They are multipliers towards children, and children are my aim.”

The teachers certainly felt Dr. Gitta’s energy. “I’m grateful to Mwangaza for inviting me to be here,” Anuari Musa from Sikarari Secondary School shared. “In this workshop, I’ve learned a lot. The most important thing is how to communicate my needs and connect to others, so as the language we use can make us safe. Also in this workshop, I learned about how to control my anger. That is important to me and I’m going to change my life from today onwards.”

Anuari’s fellow Peace Club Coordinator at Sikarari, Edna Mbwambo, shared a similar sentiment after the training: “I have learned a lot about NVC. I have been able to connect my needs together with the students. I am going to change myself from today onwards.”

Fatuma Barinoti from Marire Secondary School learned a lot from the workshop that she will carry with her beyond the walls of her classroom. “I have learned how to communicate not only with students, but all people around me by using nonviolent communication,” she shared. “It’s all about the language of life and I really enjoy it.”

In their schools, the teachers lead NVC training not only to members of Peace Clubs, but also to fellow faculty. It takes everyone fostering a non-violent environment for schools - and the people in them - to truly become places of peace.

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