Dear Friends,
Greetings from Maine! Our summer is off to an incredible start, with well over 300 Seeds participating in three major programs around the world.
Two weeks ago, 190 Seeds from the Middle East and South Asia arrived at Camp to a very enthusiastic counselors’ welcome:
Since then, they have demonstrated great courage in listening to each other and seeing past the labels their societies generate.
Now we are in the middle of Color Games, the culminating event of the session, during which campers set aside their national identities and bond as either Green or Blue team members. In less than a week, they return home where their work truly begins. Their bunks won’t be empty for long, though, with programs connecting educators from around the world, as well as for Seeds from Maine and Syracuse, taking place during the second session of Camp.
Meanwhile, just off the coast of Maine, a group of 15 Palestinian, Israeli and American Seeds are preparing to set sail for two weeks as part of a month-long pilot program called Seas of Peace. They will be learning to captain a 140-ft. schooner on the Atlantic Ocean, while also engaging with each other in daily dialogue sessions, just as they would at Camp.
You can follow their progress at sea, and watch a video of their serenade of Camp:
The third major Seeds of Peace program of the summer, called People Power, concluded yesterday in Jordan. Fifty-five Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian (West Bank and Gaza) and American Seeds spent a week exploring the power and gaining the tools necessary for young people to create change and build more peaceful communities.
This is the first Middle East multinational event for younger Seeds in over ten years, and comes at a pivotal point in the region’s history.
See pictures and read more about the groundbreaking People Power program in Jordan ››
Three programs, one summer. Only at Seeds of Peace. And all made possible by your support.
Leslie Adelson Lewin
Executive Director