A delegation of 14 Pakistani students and two teachers has recently gone to attend the Seeds of Peace (SOP) International Summer Camp 2005 in the idyllic haunts of Otisfield, Maine. The camp brings together students from regions of conflict, including India and Pakistan, to help them understand each other. Direct interaction with the “enemy” helps reduce the prejudices and stereotypes about the other side.
Students Amna Chaudhry, Aqsa Shahid, Jennifer Saleem Khan, Khadija Khan, Sarah Amjad, Sundus Manan, Mahak Bakhtiari, Arslan Ali Khan, Faizan Ahmed, Muhammad Safwan, Salman Shahid Khan, Turab Hassan, Uzair Aftab and Ibrar Chaudhry from Divisional Public School, The Trust School, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Crescent Model Higher Secondary School, accompanied by teachers Naila Faheem and Rockson Riaz, are representing Pakistan at the camp.
In an effort to make young people in Pakistan aware about the importance of peace in the region, the Pakistan chapter of the SOP is also trying to expand its circle by making presentations in various schools.
The organisation recently arranged a lecture on Kashmir by Najam Sethi, the editor of Daily Times and The Friday Times. Sethi focused on the origin and political history of Pakistan and placed the Kashmir issue in context. Later he answered many questions posed by young students at Saint Anthony’s School. Sajjad Ahmad, coordinator of the programme’s Pakistan chapter, arranged the lecture.
Seeds of Peace is an international non government organisation which facilitates friendships among children from conflicting nations. The idea of SOP was envisioned by John Wallach, a journalist who was moved by the violence he saw in the Middle East to found Seeds of Peace in 1993. He died of cancer in July 2002.
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