1. What is your mission (goals &
objectives) at Inafa’
Maolek?
Inafa Maolek is a conflict resolution organization dedicated to
reducing violence related litigation and fostering peace
and harmony in schools, workplaces and communities. We will enhance
peacemaking through advocacy, mediation and education.
2. What specific services does Inafa’ Maolek provide?
We offer MEDIATION SERVICES
Mediation is a process in which two parties meet in a private,
confidential setting to work out solutions to their conflict with the aid of a
third party, neutral person, called a mediator. Inafa’ Maolek has been engaged
in providing mediation services for our local community since 1983.
Our Inafa’ Maolek volunteer mediators are committed to creating a more
peaceful community. This is evident through the many hours of their time and
talent that they donate to assist other members of their community find peaceful
solutions to their conflicts. Our volunteers have assisted thousands of people
through their mediations of over 1400 cases to date.
WE OFFER RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SERVICES
Restorative Justice (RJ) is founded on the belief that the harm caused
by crime represents a conflict between offenders and victims in a community
context. RJ sessions provide a context within which people can take
responsibility for their actions, restitution can be made to victims, offenders
can be reintegrated, and harmony can be restored to a community. Through this
safe and neutral process, the direct or indirect involvement of all parties
affected by the offender’s actions opens communication. By opening the door of
communication, the opportunity for understanding, compassion, reconciliation,
and forgiveness can begin. The parties involved are empowered by participating
in this form of justice, translating into a stronger, more cohesive community.
People with strong ties to their communities are less likely to engage in destructive
behavior. Building community capacities can provide youth with the “social web”
necessary in order to make a successful transition back into their community.
Inafa’ Maolek has been involved in assisting our public schools with
riot incidents between students. Our restorative justice facilitators have been
called in to George Washington High School, Southern High School and Benavente
Middle School, to name a few. Students involved in these incidents were given
the opportunity to express their feelings about the incident and to listen to
how these incidents have impacted others. Many of these sessions resulted in
the youth gaining an understanding of the consequences of their actions and
handshakes with each other.
3. Who is your target audience?
Our mediation services are targeted for those who would benefit from a
neutral party to assist in the resolution of a conflict, including but not
limited to employers, families, couples who are seeking divorce, etc.
4. What are your hours of operation
and what is the best way for people to reach you that are interested in
assistance?
The Inafa Maolek office is open Monday through Friday,
9:00AM--1:00PM and 2:00PM--4:30PM or by appointment.
5. In addition to direct services,
what resources does Inafa’
Maolek offer?
We are committed to education.
PeaceTalk is our series of conferences that we offer to the community
to help increase our knowledge about conflict resolution, mediation and
peacemaking. We remain committed to creating the capacity for our community to
Grow from Conflict into Inafa Maolek and look forward to the next 30 years.
Since 1994, Inafa’ Maolek has conducted over 200 Peer Mediation
training sessions for youth in Guam’s schools and throughout the Pacific. The
sessions focus on training participants to handle and assist in resolving the
conflicts of their peers in hopes of attaining positive and long-lasting
results in addition to relieving the bitter feelings that accompany conflicts,
unlike many of the traditional disciplinary methods used in schools.
The training educates students on how to constructively and actively
assist others through a variety of lectures, activities, and role plays.
Through our efforts, we hope the participants will learn the responsibilities
of a peer mediator, the underlying causes of conflict, guidelines for constructive
conflict resolution, the elements of a fair resolution, and effective
communication skills.
Although our trainings have taken a slower pace, due to the decreased
funding available, our Founder and President Emeritus Patrick Wolff works
diligently to source out possible partners to help us continue this program.
Likewise, our board of directors, led by chairman Joey Lopez remains committed
to supporting this program, a cornerstone of our menu of services.
We are happy to announce that we have been approved to provide training
for 10 schools, which should be completed by the end of this fiscal year.
6. Thinking about current
events, how do you foresee recent events in your field of work affecting
your organization and its work?
There has been a lot of crime in the news recently.
Inafa Maolek stands ready to assist with Restorative Justice services for
victims of crime. Additionally, Inafa Maolek is preparing to train schools in
peer mediation so that they are equipped to offer this program to their
schools.
7. Can you discuss your
community partnerships and how they contribute to the overall success
of Inafa’ Maolek individually.
Inafa Maolek relies heavily on its partnerships in the community. As a
non profit organization, our partners help to spread awareness about Inafa
Maolek and its services as well as contribute to the funding needed to keep the
office open. Many of our cases get referred to us through our partners.
8. Can you touch on the history
of Inafa’ Maolek and how the
organization is set up?
Inafa Maolek was started in 1983 by three attorneys, Patrick Wolff,
Charles Troutman and John Dierking. These attorneys wanted to provide the
community with an alternative to litigation, especially in cases that deal with
families and relationships. They decided that community mediation program,
utilizing volunteer mediators would be an alternative that would work for Guam.
They increased their capacity to offer the service by offering training for
mediators. Inafa Maolek continues to offer these trainings to continue to
increase our pool of mediators.
The success of the community mediation program and increasing trend
across the country of school based programs prompted Inafa Maolek to explore
the idea of bringing a similar program into the schools. In 1997, the first
peer mediation training was held at John F.Kennedy High School and since then,
Inafa Maolek has conducted over 200 peer mediation trainings across the island.
9. Any upcoming plans or projects
that our island community should be aware of?
We think outside of the box with our Peace Theater Program.
In 1997, three Inafa’ Maolek members attended a conference in Fort
Worth, Texas on Conflict Resolution and watched a group called “The Vortex”.
This group, under the direction of Dr. Merilyn Hetzel (Theatre Director at the
Metropolitan State College of Denver), presented a 45-minute shop about
conflict resolution. Patrick Wolff was impressed and aspired to benefit the
people of Guam with similar performances. With the goal of creating a similar
show on conflict resolution, an arrangement was made for Dr. Hetzel to come to
Guam.
A cast of youthful, energetic individuals was formed and trained
through a series of intense acting sessions in preparation for Inafa’ Maolek’s
very first onstage performance, entitled “Pakyo, the Typhoon: Opportunity
Riding on a Dangerous Wind”. Finally, the show debuted on August 1, 1997 with
the aim of spreading awareness to sensitive youth issues, including bullying
and dating violence. To date, this show is by far Inafa’ Maolek’s most popular
and receives positive feedback from audiences of various demographics. Since
its creation, a myriad of shows have been produced and performed that implement
culturally relevant metaphors and personal experiences as their foundation.
The result is completely original and full-length shows without the aid
of props, costumes, and sets specially designed for Guam audiences. Each member
of the cast is proud of this work and knows that the audience will be too. The
goal of Peace Theatre performances is for audiences to relate to the scenes and
learn to prepare for and deal with conflicts throughout their lives.
We will be recruiting cast members for this program over the summer.
10. Why do you think the work you do
is important to our island community and the world at large?
Inafa Maolek is among the few organizations that is dedicated to
creating a more peaceful community. We have a lot of work to do to engage more
partners and make peace a priority. We also need to increase our community's
capacity to build peace. This can be done through training and education,
policy changes, and direct services.
