Young Peacemakers Club in Fort Turnan, Kenya, Africa A Young Peacemakers Club in Fort Turnan, Kenya, Africa is shown here singing songs from several Kenyan cultures. Matthew reports, "Young Peacemakers Club is helping to increase ethnic understanding and cross cultural appreciation among children in Fort Turnan primary schools."

Young Peacemakers in Coralville, Iowa, United States In May of 2002, our Young Peacemakers concentrated on "Peace for Us" as they played games, discussed the PeaceTalk posters, and created gifts for others. The group was divided into four teams. (about 8 - 9 children per team with one adult leader per team.) Each team was given some carpet remnants and one plastic tablecloth. Children were instructed that the gym floor was deep water. It was their task to work together by building bridges and to see that each person on the team reached the opposite end of the gym safely. It was fun to see them working together. We used the "Frozen Beanbags" idea that had been submitted by the Woodbine, IA YPC group. Another opportunity to practice "Peace for Us." After songs and a story, their groups met together to discuss issues that are illustrated on the PeaceTalk posters. Little flowerpot recipe holders were made to take home as a gift. The terra cotta pots had been filled in advance with floral foam, and a clear plastic fork (handle cut off, slightly) was inserted into the foam with the tines sticking up at a slight angle. Children decorated their pots with acrylic paint, then dressed up the flowerpots with silk flowers, floral grass, and ribbon. The recipe "The Garden" was put into the tines of the fork. The children had an opportunity to make their own beanbags. (Advance preparation needed here - the fabric had been stitched on the machine, leaving an opening for the beans. The children inserted beans and then used a needle and thread to finish off the opening.) Boys and girls all sewed! Some children enjoyed going outside to help plant alyssum in the peace garden which is on the side of hill facing a local park. ~Carolyn

Young Peacemakers in Rivonia, South Africa Young Peacemakers in South Africa learned the joy of giving gifts and sharing of themselves when they visited Cotlands National Office and Baby Sanctuary.  Speaking for Cotlands, an AIDS hospice and orphan program, Ms. Nieuwenhuizen said, "Here at Cotlands, many children are finding out for the first time what it is to have a home, to be loved, and to have all their needs met.  In what seemed to them a loveless, cold and painful world, we know the care we are able to give them will impact their lives in a big way - perhaps even change the direction some of their lives will take far in the future onto more solid and positive paths....that's why your generosity is so highly regarded."  The accompanying article was published in the "Sandton Chronicle," February 23, 2001.

Canadian Young Peacemakers - Cambridge, Ontario Young Peacemakers in Cambridge, Ontario are intentionally challenged every week at their meetings reports Patsy, a local leader. A "challenge" which matches the week's theme helps the children to take what they've learned and put it into practice in their everyday world.  Examples of some of the challenges are: pick up five pieces of garbage, smile at three people, say something nice to your brother or sister.  When the challenge has been met, a small reward is given to each child. Patsy comments, "It is amazing how eager the children are to learn the next challenge for the week!"

Multi-dimensional Peace Programming       

Young Peacemakers Club in Tokyo, Japan Young Peacemakers in Tokyo, Japan ranging in ages 11 to 15 learn positive peacemaking skills during the school year and then take an annual trip by way of the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.  The peacemakers visit historical locations and observe the exhibits and monuments displayed throughout the Memorial Peace Park. A favorite activity of the trip is the visitation of rest homes where the children share in sing-a-longs with the residents, as well as listen as the grandmothers and grandfathers share many stories about their experiences.  Michelle, adult advisor, states, "The tour is an invaluable experience which enables children to reflect on the past and use the knowledge gained to pursue a more peaceful future."  Another activity initiated by the children is the exchange of origami paper cranes with children of other cultures in order to illustrate the story of Sadako Sasaki.

Puppets for peace - It began with the Huggin' Puppets, life-sized multicultural "kids," which taught children in an interactive way about disabilities, cooperation, and justice.  Now, young peacemakers all over the world are creating their own puppet troupes and writing their own plays to teach and entertain others.  The puppets range from the very simple finger puppet to some which are fairly  elaborate, but all report a joy in creating and sharing.

Piecing it together for peace -

A service activity which is showing up all over the globe is the act of making a quilt and giving it to a group or individual who is in need.  In most cases, the children each create a quilt block which illustrates in some way their vision of piece.  The blocks are then collected and made into a quilt.  Quilts have been donated to the Ronald McDonald House, homeless shelters, first-time parents, and disaster relief agencies.

 

Young Peacemakers Club camps create summer fun - Camps in several locations around the world have helped children practice their skills in a fun yet concentrated way.   The camps have been sponsored by many civic organizations working collaboratively for the good of the children, each providing volunteers and resources to make the experience successful.

Young Peacemakers in Saltillo, Mexico celebrate through song and dance at one of their meetings.

Young Peacemakers Inter-agency Collaboration Networking provides a synergistic way in which the skills for peace are effectively shared with an ever-increasing circle of people.  "Resource fairs" where not-for-profit groups dedicated to the children and families of the community can interact and demonstrate the services they provide to the public have been a huge success in a wide variety of locations.  Family Fun Nights, Children's Peace Festivals, Celebrate Siouxland's Kids, Youth Festivals, KidzExplore, Peer Mediation Conferences, County Fairs, and more have all been enhanced by an interactive Young Peacemakers booth.

One sky, One world & Young Peacemakers Clubs The annual, international kite fly for peace is held on the second Sunday each October.  Peacemakers from all over the world have joined in this worldwide effort by initiating local community celebrations.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA -

Diann, Circle of Peace leader, reports that the Young Peacemakers Club philosophy as well as some of the activities found in Celebrating Peace have been incorporated into their peace program with fantastic results.

Circle of Peace, is associated with the Families Against Violence Advocacy Network, and is a working group of the Institute for Global Education.  They have begun a training program for substitute teachers as well as presenting their concepts to schools and congregations.  They promote a "Pledge of Nonviolence," in their quest to help families, classrooms and other groups live more peacefully.

Woodbine, Iowa, USA-

Alison, a local leader comments, "Our Young Peacemakers Club meetings have been held on twelve consecutive Mondays and we've had an average of 59 kids at our weekly meetings! Each week as the children arrive from school they eat a snack.  Following the snack we gather in a large group and discuss the daily theme. We also do a YPC chant and sing our theme song. The kids have enjoyed learning sign language to go with the chorus - 'We're peacemakers you and I - We're peacemakers under one sky.' During our first six week block, we covered two areas of peace: Peace for Me and Peace for Us. In our second six week block we have focused on: Peace for the Planet and Peace for Everyone.

We illustrated the Peace for Us concept by playing a game called 'Frozen Bean Bags' which involved lots of cooperation. The kids had to walk around the room with a bean bag on their heads. If the bean bag fell off, they were frozen until someone else came along and picked up their bean bag for them and replaced it on their head. If the helper's bean bag fell off in the process they were frozen too. It was nice to see kids helping each other even though it meant taking the risk of losing their own bean bag."