At Summer Peacebuilding Institute, unlikely pair shares struggle for peace

Mennonite Central Committee
Friday, 22 June 2001

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- In Jamaica, Kenneth Wilson and Winchroy "Junior" Budhoo represent two very different communities: Wilson grew up in a ghetto plagued by political violence and conflict with police, while Budhoo is a police officer. At the Summer Peacebuilding Institute, this unlikely pair is sharing wisdom gleaned from a long struggle to restore relationships in the Augustown neighborhood in Kingston.

The institute, held May 7 to June 29 on the Eastern Mennonite University campus, offers 17 courses in five one- to two-week sessions. More than 200 people from nearly 60 countries will take at least one course on peacebuilding, conflict resolution and related topics this year. Wilson and Budhoo are two of 27 participants sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee.

Born and raised in Augustown, Wilson is a respected community leader and activist with Jamaicans for Justice, a grassroots civil rights movement that documents and reports cases of police brutality. Budhoo is a police inspector and an outsider to Augustown. The story of their own journey toward collaboration represents a small miracle of peace.

By 1998, murder and violent crime were everyday events in Augustown

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org