SANDALS Montego Bay has renewed its commitment to the transformation of the Flankers Community by providing training for area residents in mediation skills and conflict resolution.

The training is being facilitated through the Social Conflict and Legal Reform Project (SCLRP) which is now in its second year.

The fourth batch of mediators began their sessions on Monday, July 8 inside the Frank Warren Chapel at Sandals Montego Bay. Training will continue through to July 25, after which the participants will become certified mediators.

Sandals Montego Bay’s involvement includes provision of training facilities and meals at concessionary rates. The resort also provides accommodations for the trainers who are from Kingston. Concluding the current training is Paul Llines, parish co-ordinator of the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRP).

Last year, Sandals Montego Bay signalled its commitment to the five-year project by presenting a Memorandum of Support to the administrators of the programme.

The SCLRP is working in the Flankers community, providing training in conflict resolution. Ultimately, 200 mediators, administrators and facilitators from the inner-city community will be trained.

The Peace and Justice Centre provides an avenue for community mediators to offer their services to residents who have disputes. This centre also serves as a resource bank with reading materials and computer facilities to allow access to information and conflict resolution.

Flankers is one of two communities which is being used as a pilot project for the conflict resolution project; the other is Trench Town in Kingston. In implementing the project, residents from the communities undergo a period of training that enables them to manage conflicts on a professional level. When a conflict evolves in the community, it will be referred to the dispute resolution body who will then try to resolve the issue.

The project has two components that work together: the legal institutions and mediators plus the participation of community members.

The legal aspect includes the combined efforts of the judiciary, the bar, court administration, the dispute resolution foundation mediators and other entities to improve the ability of Jamaicans to effectively resolve disputes through the judicial system in more timely, less costly and more accessible manner. The community component focuses on empowering the two pilot communities through the key stakeholders, Dispute Resolution Foundation and PALS Jamaica Limited, which will work with these communities to assist the residents in conflict management skills.

According to general manager of Sandals Montego Bay Hotel, Horace Peterkin, this project will go a far way in developing Jamaica’s ability to handle conflict.

“It will work because it goes to the heart of the communities. It listens to their problems, and feelings, it builds the skills block by block among the community members themselves to manage their conflicts,” said Peterkin.