Father Isaiah from Irawi Catholic Parish in Hela Province has been serving there for ten years and for the past three years, has been leading teams of mediators in a peacebuilding ministry that seeks to address the high levels of tribal fighting in Hela. His teams, who frequently witness violence and hear retellings from survivors, must tread a careful path to maintain neutrality and bring fighting parties to a resolution; the work can take its toll. “We focus more on helping others that are survivors of violence and prolonged crises. We forget that we, too, as mediators of these issues, can be affected as well.” “Self-care is paramount for us because we are the middlemen when it comes to conflict resolution and reaching a decision that is agreeable for the conflicting parties.” He has a total of sixteen mediators who work across Koroba and Tari. They were joined by mediators from the United Church from Komo-Magarima for a two-day workshop on psychological first aid, facilitated by UNFPA with support from UN Women. As part of a joint programme to support local peacebuilding efforts in the Highlands Region, UNFPA and UN Women delivered sessions on self-care, non-violent communications, and psychological first aid strategies for supporting survivors of violence. According to Fr. Isaiah, not only has this training showed the participants the importance of self-care, but also opened their eyes to the different ways conflict and crises, including environmental events, can affect individuals and communities, and how strategies can be implemented to help these individuals and communities’ cope. “Most times we just look at the local context of addressing issues and we seek to address what we see on the surface.” “But now, with this training, we are aware that survivors can be affected physically, emotionally, and socially.” “We’ve also come to understand that not all communications are helpful to survivors of violence and crisis, however, are grateful for the communication aspect of this training and for learning how to communicate in a manner with survivors that is more understanding of their circumstances.” Furthermore, UNFPA and UN Women’s support to peacebuilding in the Highlands Region aims to address the underlying causes of conflict responsible for the cycle of inter-group violence by providing Mental Health and Psycho-social Support (MHPSS) to women, men, and youths. Engaging local mediators is key to the sustainability of these efforts. On behalf of the three mediation teams, Fr Isiah expressed his gratitude for the training and thanked UNFPA and UN Women for the support. He added that they will now fully utilize what they have learnt and will prioritize their self-care when dealing with issues as well. Meanwhile, earlier this year, UNFPA conducted a psychological first aid training with partners in Laiagam, Porgera and Kompiam-Ambum as part of the organization’s response to the ongoing fighting in Enga Province.