A community of peacebuilders

At Petra, the word peacebuilder includes a wide range of people, both professional and amateur, involved in the wide world of national and international peacebuilding. This always includes people working in:

* Conflict transformation & reconciliation

* Peace education, conflict prevention, and conflict resolution

* Political and/or community-based mediation

* Post-conflict security: Security Sector Reform (SSR), Disarmament, Demobilization & Reintegration (DDR), Mine Action/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), etc.

Depending on the context, peacebuilding can also include people working in:

* Humanitarian aid and development (especially in active conflict zones)

* Institution and nation building

* Human rights and advocacy

* Environmental conservation and protection

* Any number of educational, social, or structural initiatives that contribute to positive social change, facilitate the establishment of durable peace and assist in preventing the recurrence of violence by addressing root causes of conflict

Here at Petra, we affirm that those people who are the best kind of peacebuilders—compassionate, self-sacrificing, and committed to reconciliation and/or social justice at great personal cost—are also the most likely to suffer the negative effects of this type of work. If this is true, then these people need a safe place to be themselves, with their tough issues at the forefront, where they can freely and openly process within a community where they are inherently understood. Petra Peacebuilders is a community where we are privileged to strengthen our sisters and brothers.

Who are peacebuilders?

Many peacebuilders work in their home countries, though others very often work across borders and/or cross-culturally. A typical peacebuilder's life might look like one of these: *

Olivia - South america*

Olivia is a Peruvian social worker. Her country has made great advances in poverty alleviation, but in her job she doesn't see much of that progress; she still sees the hardest cases day after day. She's tough and competent, but she isn't made of stone, either. It's easy to get discouraged and lose focus of the bigger picture. Like many of her women peers, Olivia tries her best to juggle her work with raising her young family and taking care of her aging parents. She's tired, she gets conflicted with her priorities and doesn't really know where to turn for help and support. Olivia is a dedicated peacebuilder who needs help from someone who understands her context and who can help her sort things out for a healthy and sustainable work/life balance.

Yair - Middle East*

Yair is a fledgling Israeli documentary filmmaker who throws himself into inspiring but challenging messages in order to help transform the conflict. His vision seems extraordinary to people on the outside but inside his own culture, it feels like trying to push a boulder uphill. Even his own family doesn't believe in what he is doing, and he feels terribly alone. He doesn't yet realize that there are countless filmmakers just like him fighting for social change all around the world. Yair is an ambitious peacebuilder who needs someone to come alongside him, to coach him through his next project and who can also introduce him to a wider network of colleagues from whom he will receive life-long interpersonal support.

Chris - Afghanistan*

Chris is a civilian embedded with the US military in Afghanistan. As a security contractor working in nation building in a war zone, he is part of a group of people also known as Frontline Civilians. He works with Afghan provincial governments in helping rebuild schools and commerce. Others of his frontline civilian colleagues are training Afghan police and army to help build national security infrastructure. Chris is someone who embraces huge challenges; he loves his job because he feels he's doing something meaningful in an incredibly difficult place. But unlike his military counterparts, Chris is flying solo in the sense that he doesn't have any built-in medical or mental health support when his contract in Afghanistan is up. Military veterans themselves have less than adequate resources when they return from their tours; frontline civilians like Chris have even less (well, none to be honest) and yet Chris is suffering the same exact post-trauma effects as his colleagues in the field. Chris is a courageous peacebuilder who is about to learn just how difficult post-assignment life can be upon returning to his home country, on so many tangible and intangible levels.

Ellen - Southeast Asia*

Ellen works in Bali, famous for its tropical climate and lovely beaches. But don't assume she works in a paradise: Like many countries, Indonesia has its challenges with human trafficking, and Ellen is a human rights lawyer. The people in Ellen's life see her as a model woman to emulate, but they don't know the full story. Ellen is 15 years into her career, and the difficult nature of her work has led her to lose faith in humanity. Furthermore, her own social support system which she had when she started her career doesn't do her any good anymore, especially now that she is half a world away from where she started her career. Her closest relationships have changed over time, and it's hard to make new friends with people who don't understand how or why your job affects you so much. She works too much, and when she finally leaves the office, she doesn't go out. She draws into herself, a tactic which in the past helped rejuvenate her, but now there's nothing inside to get any strength from anymore. Ellen is a gifted peacebuilder on the edge of burning out.

*In order to protect those serving in conflict zones, Sample cases are representative but not 100% factual. any real-life resemblance is entirely coincidental.