KEY POINTS:
A Samoan peacemaker who helped to negotiate a truce between warring gangs in Los Angeles has been handed the task of instilling a culture of non-violence among South Auckland's young people.
In 1993, when he was a medical student at the University of California, Lua Maynard found he could not shut his eyes to what was happening.
"There were killings going back and forth, tit for tat. You kill one of us and we'll kill one of you."
In his neighbourhood of south-central Los Angeles, people had to line up with one gang or another for their own protection.
"You were aware of certain areas you can go to and certain areas you can't," he said.
"I still owe allegiance and loyalty to a lot of my close friends who were killed in front of me.
"We decided to organise a gang truce. I was in graduate school. It was almost like I was trying to be an academic but I still had ties to the streets, so I was utilising new knowledge that I was exposed to at another level. I tried to use that to co-ordinate to try to get people to meet for discussions."
His young peacemakers linked up with the widows of slain leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, Coretta Scott-King and Dr Betty Shabazz.
"They spent a week with us attending meetings and showing support."
It worked. A truce was declared. Although it fell apart after nine months, Mr Maynard had found his mission. He pulled out of med school and got a job as a morgue technician, which he later combined with work as a prison teacher.
He moved to Auckland to look after his sick mother five years ago, worked as a probation officer in Otara, and has spent the past 2 years running the living without violence programmes in Samoan and English at Friendship House in Manukau. He is also a radio host on Niu FM on Friday nights and Sunday mornings.
Now, all of this seems to have been training for his new challenge: The Health Ministry-funded one-year, half-time contract to facilitate a "violence-free environment" among young people in Manukau, working with the 274 youth group at Crosspower Ministries in Otara.
It is one of four youth pilot projects, with others at Pa O Te Ora in Hikurangi (Northland), a cluster of youth groups in Feilding and a youth network in Nelson.
Research for the projects with youngsters aged 13 to 25 in poorer parts of the Wellington region found most had seen or experienced violence at home or at school - ranging from punching and shoving to kicking. They told the Chilli Marketing researchers they found it hard to imagine a world without violence.
Although the paid project is only for a year, Mr Maynard, 40, sees it as a long-term commitment, paid or not.
"It's important to get people involved to donate some of their time and be sincere in helping out, not just showing up this week and never being heard from again."
From his own experience, he sees education as the key to giving youngsters a sense of direction.
"They don't see themselves living past 22. They want stuff now: 'I want happiness, I want parties, because I don't see myself going past 22,"' he says.
"When you talk about educating yourself so you can get a good job, they say, 'I'm not going to be around that long.'
"The approach we are trying to develop is not to wait for them to end up at the bottom of the cliff but to say, 'Hey, let's catch them before they get to the cliff' - build options, build self-esteem, let them know there are people out there that will look after them if they are abused.
"It takes a lot of patience," he says, gesturing towards a group of about 30 youngsters with 274 youth workers outside the Tupu youth library in Flat Bush.
"Out of all those young people you may get through to five. As a social worker, you take what you can get. Whether it's one, two, three or five, you have to chalk that up as a success, otherwise you couldn't do this job."
Community buildup to white ribbon day
Two weeks of community actions against violence start today around the country. Events, focused on White Ribbon Day on Saturday when men will be encouraged to wear white ribbons to renounce violence, begin today with a Windows of Love competition in Whangarei shop windows.
Other events this week include:
* Dr Janet Fanslow on how the health sector can prevent family violence, Greenlane Clinical Centre, Thursday, noon and 1pm.
* West Auckland Women's Centre open day on preventing violence, 111 McLeod Rd, Te Atatu South, Thursday, 1pm-3pm.
* Waitakere march against violence, Friday, starts Waitakere Hospital 10.30am, ends Henderson civic centre 11am.
* Dr Ian Hassall on family violence and children, Clinical Education Centre Auditorium, Auckland City Hospital, Friday, 11am.
* Pacific Women's Watch conference on taking action to overcome violence, Somervell Church Centre, 497 Remuera Rd, Saturday, 9am-4.30pm.
* Anti-violence street festival, Frankton markets, Hamilton, Saturday, 9am-noon.
