Money can't buy happiness but it can secure a good lawyer when in a pickle. But that is beyond the reach for many South Africans‚ especially in townships like Gugulethu on the Cape Flats. Soon a whole street there will be dedicated to resolving disputes through mediation instead of going to court.Fifteen women will undergo specialised training before being registered as mediators and transforming their homes into "conflict resolutions and legal education spaces''.The initiative is being run by The African School of Mediation‚ which will start training on Woman's Day."There has been a lot of lip service about the accessibility of law‚ but sadly the reality remains dire‚” said the founder of the school‚ advocate Jackie Nagtegaal.“Many South Africans simply cannot deal with the enormous difficulties they face without access to the legal justice system.''Mediators assist in disputes by facilitating discussions‚ identifying issues‚ exploring compromise and solutions in order to resolve disputes.Nagtegaal said several laws call for mediation before litigation and highlighted that attorneys could charge a minimum of R600 per hour‚ advocates up to R2000 per hour and senior advocates between R350000 to R400000 a day.The women are well-respected members of the community. Deborah Msiki said it was time South Africans listen to each other to become more compassionate. She said the biggest problems in their community were family and housing disputes."We hope to build bridges and bring peace to the hearts of the community‚'' said Msiki.Sometimes disputes turn ugly‚ said Maybel Nyani."Many people in the township are unemployed and don't have money to pay lawyers or go to court. They don't know much about the laws‚ their rights or how to resolve problems and end up destructively taking matters into their own hands.''Earlier this year‚ the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development launched the Court-Annexed Mediation pilot programme in Mahikeng to broaden access to justice services. The initial focus will be civil and family disputes‚ and the project is expected to be expanded to other areas."We will‚ over time‚ develop a legislative framework for the effective use of alternative dispute resolution for the resolution of certain criminal cases where appropriate‚'' minister Michael Masutha said at the time. – RDM News Wire, The Times..