Not surprisingly, participants talked about beginning the Project with very mixed feelings: excitement on the one hand and apprehension and anxiety on the other. Excitement centred on the mental challenge and the opportunity for learning afforded by the Project. Doubts about participation in the Project related to feelings of uncertainty and discomfort about the involvement it would entail. Some participants felt anxiety about having to revisit their own experiences of violence, and others worried about how they would be able to deal with confronting the issue of violence so directly. Participants described the initial period of the Project as a time spent sitting with their doubts and their feelings of discomfort, uncertainty and fear. The approach to learning that was used in the workshops was unfamiliar to many participants who expressed concerns about their ability to move beyond their comfort zones.

Once the Project was underway, these doubts and anxieties quickly gave way to excitement as participants experienced new ways of learning in a safe environment. They became willing to take risks and to shift their own boundaries. As the unknown and uncomfortable became known and comfortable, participants experienced the Project as "fun," "exhilarating," "affirming," "special" and "magical." Part of the exhilaration was feeling that they were being challenged to think differently and, they said, "stretch our brains."

In the section below, we consider more specifically participants' experiences as regards the three major Project strategies.

1. Workshops

Participants identified the workshops as the most meaningful and enjoyable experience of the Project. They experienced the workshops as fun, encouraging, confidence building and hopeful. Workshops created a sense of group cohesion and being in it together. They offered a safe environment that set the stage for developing mutually supportive relationships. Participants emphasized that communication in the online course was greatly strengthened by the relationships that were developed in the initial workshops.