BY NICK LEHMANN | This past summer I had the opportunity to attend Seeds of Peace International Camp, a camp in Maine promoting reconciliation and coexistence among teenagers from the Middle East and South Asia, creating a sense of hope for peace in the future. I, along with 21 other teenagers, was a member of the organization’s American Delegation. Many of the delegations came to camp hating each other, and we believed that it would be extremely tough to have the two opposing sides of a conflict come together to work as a team for the betterment of their countries.
Each day, campers participated in intense dialogue sessions where they spoke to the other side about the conflict in their region But the dialogue did not start out so easily. The campers were merely teenagers, sitting in a room with people they had been raised to hate. As it progressed, dialogue became much more bearable for many and the creation of peace began. Throughout camp and dialogue, teenagers on different sides of the conflict made unbreakable relationships. At camp, my foreign peers connected on a deeply personal level and, by the end of our three weeks there, understood that people are defined by so much more than their nationalities. The daily conflict-resolution based dialogues that we had gave me hope that, despite the violent conflict each camper has been forced to suffer, there will one day be peace. I also realized that there are few organizations like Seeds that are bold and powerful enough to truly effect change. The need for peace in these regions is fiercely urgent, and the young graduates of the program are their nations’ best to spearhead peace efforts.
Seeds of Peace has been badly hit by the recent economic downturn. Seeds is a non-profit organization, and it is in desperate need for ways to help these teenagers come to the camp in Maine this summer. Seeds is currently participating in Chase Community Giving, a Facebook competition in which it has the opportunity to win $1 million by receiving the most votes. We are extremely excited to take part in this contest and in winning this contest, change can come to Seeds. It takes less than one minute to vote, by using the link below. Please do your part in helping to end these violent conflicts by voting for peace!