Belayneh Berdu, 36, is a family man with six children. He lives in Bara Kerewo village in Dawro Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's State. He is a member of a minority social group in the area. Over a year ago, a peasant in his neighbourhood dispossessed Belayneh of his plot of land and destroying everything on it.. This left Belayneh and his family with nothing to live on.

Belayneh took the case to concerned offices seeking justice. He spent a lot of money, time and energy in following the case but in vain. After toiling for six months, he was contemplating to give up the case in despondency when AAE Gena Bossa CCDP came to his rescue.

AAE initiated a local level conflict resolution strategy in the formulation and ratification of which the community participated. AAE facilitated training of elders and other members of the local conflict resolution committee for handling of related cases.

Belayneh brought his case to the attention of the committee members as soon as he heard about its formation. It took the committee only three weeks to examine the case and rule in favour of Belayneh. "This time I spent only 0.20 cents to buy a piece of paper for writing an application. More importantly, I got hold of my confiscated plot of land within only three weeks of appealing to the committee," he said.