Testimonials

summer 2009

The " Kids "

Maddie - I think Kids 4 peace was a wonderful experience and I wish I could do it again with every one next summer.   I think the most exciting part was making lots of friends from here and on the other side of the world.  I also loved what we would do at camp.  It was a perfect balance of doing activities, time to socialize and time to be alone or with few people.  We also could to be active; play sports....... as well as relaxing.  I also learned about peace and after getting to know our friends from the middle east I think we all started to look from different views.  I don't think it took long to get into a routine after a few days I felt like we were all a family and we practically were.  We did most every thing together; swimming, eating, socializing, learning, dancing, acting................
Kids 4 Peace was very special for me and I am sure it was for all my friends also.  I still stay in touch with most of them and see some of them from time to time.  I wish I could see some of my friends from the middle east, especially my peace pal Shahar or as my friend Racheal and I call her "Shalme".

Merritt -  Kids 4 peace was really fun. I learned a lot if interesting things about other religions, and I had a great time doing it. It was great!

Senia - Kids 4 peace was one of the best experiences I ever had. Camp was great and learning about other religions was so much fun. Everyone is so kind and you get to do so many fun things with them.

Jade - Camp was a great experience for me. It was so much fun. I loved how we learned things but we had a lot of time to get to know the kids and I have a lot of great friends that I still keep in touch with.

Avital -  About love.  There are a lot of people who talk about hating others and that forces love out of the world.   As peacemakers we need to spread out our peacemaking like a magnet that will bring the love back into the world.

The “Shepherds”

Anna - Help kids experience some thing new, open their minds and realize that because some one is different doesn’t mean that they should be hated.  Show them there are peaceful ways to solve problems.

Holly - Meeting people who they normally wouldn’t meet.  Every body is similar.  What seems hopeless, Israel more conservative, Palestine more fractured.  Change kids perspectives.  Individual people make a huge difference, beyond politics.

Zak - People like each other more, and learn that people are people.

Jesse - If people don’t know about something, they get scared and angry.  K4P is to show kids about other religions, and not to be afraid.  Kids will be calmer and more understanding.  Know that there’s more out there.  Fun.

Jill “Jewish Advisor” from Jerusalem - Hope that K4P will accomplish in each child a chance to rethink all the preconceived notions that they came in with and that they walk out the doors with a desire to truly be a peace maker.  Any one of us in a situation of conflict will try to find the peaceful solution to the problem.  making peace is also a challenge to do within yourself, between two people, in a family, in a community, between 2 peoples, 2 lands, 2 cultures, religions of the world, G*D.

My final words for this survey would be to emphasize the importance of meeting the other, breaking stereotypes, opening up opportunities to challenge our thinking.  It is when we cross boundaries, (and those can be within the state of Vermont, or in the middle east...) when we really MEET OURSELVES.  It is meeting the other that helps us define who we are...and that is the core essence of peace education...when
you make peace with the other, sometimes your enemy, you first have to know yourself, find peace in yourself.  Then you can reach out beyond and find creative ways to make peace around you.