OTISFIELD | Now that Seeds of Peace has committed itself to a long stay in Otisfield, directors hope to make the international conflict-resolution camp a part of the local fabric.
“I hope the community will reach out [to the camp],” said John Wallach, Seeds of Peace founder and president, during a recent visit to the camp property.
When Seeds of Peace operated out of Camp Androscoggin in Wayne in the summers of 1995 and 1996, that town organized a special community day at the municipal center to welcome the teenaged Arab and Israeli campers, said Wallach. This summer, as the program returns to the former Camp Powhatan site where it began in 1993—and where the Seeds of Peace International Camp will be permanently based—Wallach hopes that those in the Oxford Hills will be equally receptive.
To welcome the community to the camp, Seeds of Peace plans to host one or two open houses this summer, said Wallach. They will most likely take place on a Sunday afternoon.
And for those who wish to become involved with the program on a greater level, and enjoy a true learning experience, Seeds of Peace is looking for some area residents to serve as hosts to the adult delegation leaders who will travel to the U.S. with the teens in July. Each delegation of 50-60 youths is accompanied by two to five adults, all accomplished in their home countries, who join the young participants at the camp only during meals, said Wallach.
“Where the community can be of enormous help … is to kind of help us entertain these people,” he said. “We would love it if some people from the area would welcome them into their homes.”
Seeds of Peace hopes to help these adults, many of whom are visiting the U.S. for the first time, explore Maine and “Americana” by organizing related trips and programs during their three-week stay, said Wallach. Bates College, in Lewiston, for example, has agreed to host a one-week course for the delegation leaders; the initiative would welcome other suggestions or assistance in arranging trips.