Isabella, 12, came home every day feeling very sad and distressed. Her mother Andrea asked her what was wrong, but the girl never answered. Isabella constantly locked herself in her room and didn't talk to anyone. In the mornings, she always woke up with a stomachache or some other symptom that sometimes prevented her from going to school. As the days went by, Andrea began to worry about her daughter and decided to pay closer attention to her behavior.

She checked her backpack and found a page in her social studies notebook full of insults directed at her daughter because of her height.

Concerned, she went to the school and spoke with both Isabella's teacher and the school's social coordinator, who assured her that everything was under control and that it was just innocent childish behavior. They promised to follow up and nip the problem in the bud.

As the days passed, Andrea saw that her daughter's attitude was not improving and that she continued to cry secretly in her room and did not want to go to school. She decided to return to the school and speak with the principal, who asked her to be patient and calm because they were working to resolve the situation.

Desperate because the school was not doing anything, Andrea asked everyone she knew until a friend told her about the Hermes School Mediation program of the Arbitration and Conciliation Center of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, which had successfully tackled bullying, cyberbullying, and any type of school bullying in more than 500 schools in Bogotá and the region by promoting peaceful coexistence.

Andrea sought out the school principal to discuss the idea with him. Reluctantly, the school allowed the young mediators in the program to hold sessions at the school so that the children could talk about all their problems, the situations that bothered and distressed them, and the cases of bullying among their classmates.

Isabella finally revealed that her classmates Mateo and Catalina were verbally abusing her because she was the shortest in the class. With the intervention of the young mediator, the three children were invited to talk and understand the importance of differences. After a conversation that was tense at first but friendly in the end, Mateo and Catalina apologized to Isabella for their inappropriate behavior and promised to get along harmoniously without attacking her or any other child.

The children learned the importance of respecting their classmates and everyone they interact with at school. The results were so positive that the school adopted the Hermes program to train its children as school mediators. Isabella now wakes up eager to go to school, and interestingly, Mateo and Catalina are now part of the network of mediators who help prevent bullying at their school.

And you, what conflict do you have?

Write to us at queconflictotiene@ccb.org.co or visit our website www.centroarbitrajeconciliacion.com and discover why #AnotherFormOfJusticeIsPossible.