Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches, responds to basic human needs and works for peace and justice.

MCC is committed to relationship with local partners and churches in this work. The Programme Paix et Réconciliation (PPR) of the Church of Christ in Congo has been an MCC partner organization since 2008 and has existed since 2006. It is based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. PPR works to support the U.N.- and government-led process of voluntary disarmament and/or repatriation of Rwandan refugees and members of the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group consisting of the remnants of the militias that carried out the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Despite PPR’s robust networks and field experience, formal education on conflict analysis, negotiation, or conflict management is hard to access in the eastern DRC. Program staff, whether office- or field-based, come from a variety of educational backgrounds and include former pastors, nurses, and teachers. MCC has engaged HNMCP to expand the formal knowledge of PPR employees in key areas of peacebuilding theory, and especially in the analysis and management of conflict. The project would also provide an outside perspective on conflict dynamics and provide concrete recommendations for PPR’s future activities. Finally, the project would afford HNMCP students and PPR staff members the opportunity for in-person exchanges, to share experiences and knowledge.

Activities & Deliverables

• The development of a curriculum for the analysis and management of conflict, specific to the DR Congo context;
• A conflict analysis, using relevant conflict dynamics in the eastern DR Congo as a case study;
• An in-person visit to the DR Congo, to present the curriculum and the results of the conflict analysis;
• A completed curriculum on conflict analysis and management;
• A conflict analysis overviewing the dynamics of conflict in the eastern DR Congo, including recommendations for the future.

Field Visit