Mission
To make known, explain and promote peace building values and attitudes; to spread awareness of the sources and mechanisms of violence. To give basic training to young people so that they become motivated and capable of building peace in all circumstances. To give guidance and resolve conflict among people whenever possible.
Vision
A society where everyone is valued and where all work creatively to build peace.
Values
It is the values that we share that make us what we are as an organization. These values can be summarized in the following seven:
- Compassion– Shanti Mitra focuses on human transformation. That can never be only a job. Leadership must be open to transformation, genuinely caring about people who are hurting and be able in some way to empathize with those who suffer because of violence past or present.
- Respect for the poor– We believe in the dignity of every individual. This leads us to treat the poor with respect and dignity. This includes listening to them, taking their views seriously, speaking to them as a respected equal and accepting to learn from them.
- Justice– We believe that structural unfairness is at the root of much of the violence of endangering inequality in Bangladesh. Shanti Mitra workers must be able to identify the unfairness in the social-economical-political system and be creative in finding alternatives to these structures.
- Simplicity in life style and work style– Because of our understanding of justice, we believe that the privileged ones in society should use their advantages for the benefit of others, not seek primarily their own advancement and well-being. We believe that we ourselves should seek simple, unostentatious ways of living and working and in all ways try to live as we teach.
- Non violence– We believe that physical force and violence are never effective tools for social transformation and we seek instead to promote transformation of mind and society through understanding, mutual help, and reconciliation.
- Integrity– Most resources are committed to Shanti Mitra by donors. While using reasonable accounting checks, we still heavily depend on basic honesty and integrity of our staff.
- Teamwork– Shanti Mitra is a team. Through self discipline and the practice of forgiveness of oneself and others, we want to foster a spirit of joy, goodwill and trust. We want to avoid competitiveness, unfair criticism, gossip and intrigue.