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PATRON:
MADONNA
DAME JUDI DENCH
ROYAL PATRON:
HH THE BEGUM
AGA KHAN
Copyright Children of Peace;
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THE AMERICAN FUND FOR CHARITIES
Supporting Good Causes Worldwide
ABRAHAM FUND, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE CHILD AND WESAL RECEIVE OUR LATEST GRANTS
The Trustees of Children of Peace have nominated three affiliate groups in Israel
and Palestine to receive our Small International Grant at the start of 2010. Each
group carries out important work in protecting children and all subscribe to our
notions of peaceful co-existence and co-operation between communities in the region,
where possible.
The Israeli National Council for the Child is a leading NGO based in Israel that
cares for vulnerable children from all backgrounds and communities. It was the NCC
that first alerted us to the plight of Palestinian children found begging in the
streets of Israel.
Elizabeth Levy, the Director of the NCC writes:
"The National Council for the Child runs a Child Victim Assistance Program that provides
support and assistance to child victims of abuse (physical and sexual, for the most
part). You can read more about it.
We are very anxious to get this program working more in the Arab community. This
year we have finally recruited Arabic-speaking volunteers to work as the children's
companions. Your funding would be perfect for translating and printing and distributing
the program brochure into Arabic. Furthermore, we are beginning to put together an
interactive website for children who will have to go to court to help them relieve
the stress of the experience. Needless to say, having the interactive website in
Arabic too would be fabulous. Thank you Children of Peace for your generosity. Please
keep up the good work"
WESAL is a key affiliate to Children of Peace and they play an important role in
providing education programmes for children, particularly at their kindergarten in
Gaza.
Ammar Elqidra, Chairman of the Society Development Foundation, WESAL tells us:
"On behalf of the WESAL board and team, we deeply appreciate your donation to WESAL's
kindergarten. This donation will be extremely valuable to widen our services and
activities at the kindergarten. We will use this fund to buy educational materials
and games to improve the learning environment for the children, a detailed completion
report with photo will be sent to you upon conducting this activities.
We hope we would have chance to conduct other projects in partnership with Children
of Peace , especially in the field of minimizing the negative impact of violence
on the children of Gaza".
The Abraham Fund is one of the most distinguished NGO’s in Israel - working to promote
tolerance and understanding between the Israeli authorities and the Israeli Palestinian
population. Their important initiative: Language As A Cultural Bridge is keenly supported
by the Trustees and we recommend that leading funders support this work. We have
long felt the urgent need for Israeli children to learn Arabic and for Palestinian
children to learn Hebrew - to build greater understanding and dialogue. This initiative
is a vital contribution to future peaceful co-existence and we are pleased to make
this initial contribution to the work.
Mohammad Darawashe, Executive Co-Director of The Abraham Fund says:
"It is with pleasure that we accept this award of the board and particularly the
appreciation it represents to our work."
INTERNATIONAL STAR INSPIRATIONAL AT HAND IN HAND FOR ARAB-JEWISH EDUCATION
In this article, Noa Burger, a Children of Peace staffer tells us about a successful
Music Workshop held on 22nd December 2009 where international Israeli singing star
and active Children of Peace Goodwill Ambassador, Yasmin Levy, met a group of Arab
& Jewish students at one of our affiliate schools in Jerusalem.
“The school is part of the Hand-in-Hand group, educating children of Arab and Jewish
backgrounds together in Israel, in both their languages - Arabic and Hebrew. They
are often talked to about peace and co-existence, but this was an emotional experience
unlike any other, for both the teenage students and Yasmin.”
Yael, a student at the School writes:
“ I very much enjoyed the meeting with Yasmin Levy. I was very impressed by her musical
abilities, and even more than that I enjoyed listening to her personal story. I think
that she showed us that what we are doing in our school is very important, and that
our dream is happening, and we live it from day to day. She arrived at greatness
by a strong belief in her willpower, a personal quality that I believe in with all
my spirit. When she sang you could hear pride in her voice for every word she said,
pride in the journey that she took to get to the place that she is in today.
She also spoke about wandering, and about life in different countries. She lives
from moment to moment, fully absorbing many cultures and languages and I really felt
appreciation towards her for that.
I think that she simply lives the life that she always wanted to live, the life that
she always dreamed she would have. The message that I received from her performance
is a message that concerns all of us – that we should continue to create and carry
out all of the areas that interest us and just us, because these are our lives.
There is no doubt that I enjoyed her songs. They were special and different from
the music that we usually listen to, and they were in a language that we don’t hear
in our daily lives. When we sang with her in one of the songs there was a warmer
atmosphere and the performance turned into a more intimate and warm meeting.
In summary, I am happy that I was able to meet a woman like Yasmin, and she gave
me motivation, also from the conversation that we had after her performance, to continue
living my dreams, because we only have one life.”
We spoke to Yasmin about her experience at the workshop and she said: “In the morning
I was asking myself, “What am I going to say to these kids, they’re fifteen?” I was
anxious, not knowing how they would react to my singing because it is so different
to what they grew up with. I arrived and everyone was tense as I spoke for the first
fifteen minutes. But I did not want it to be a lecture so I asked for their help
in turning it into a discussion. And then they did not stop asking me questions;
smart questions.”
Clearly enthused and moved by her experience, Yasmin continued “they look like brothers
and sisters, these kids. We are so alike that you cannot tell who is Arab or who
is Jewish, and it is so natural for them to be together. I told them to always remember
what they share in common. They may not know it yet, because they are young, but
they are the solution, they are making history; they see each other, not as enemies,
but as human beings. I did not have this opportunity. Even though my neighbours were
Arab, we did not mix. I grew up believing that they hate us and they want to kill
us. One Arab teenager at the session asked me why Jews listen to Arab music if they
hate them so much. I told him that I think music is a way we can touch each other,
and get to know each other, because although we are neighbours in Israel, we really
are very far apart. Through music we can discover each other, and discover that if
someone has the heart to make beautiful music, they must also have the heart to accept
us. I believe this can work. I could see it in how moved the students were, even
the tough macho ones. They really can bring change between our two peoples, but it
is a big responsibility.”
As an important Goodwill Ambassador for Children of Peace, Yasmin feels passionately
about her role and the work of the charity. She tells us: “I am not a political person.
I went there and I showed them myself, who I am and what I do, which is really the
same thing for me. I was there to speak about dreams, to tell them that it is okay
to dream, that I am happiest because I let myself dream, because I am becoming who
I wanted to be. Some of them spoke to me afterwards about being afraid to be themselves.
I told them that there are people in the world waiting to meet them, so that they
can help them make their dreams come true. I told them that whilst we need to respect
other people, we must also listen to our hearts, because at the end of the day, it
is us who lives our lives.
If I gave just one of them the hope or belief that they can dream and achieve, then
this was, for me, the greatest honour. What a privilege to be exposed to the beautiful
work this school is doing.”
RICHARD CLIFFORD, CHAIR OF OUR EVENTS COMMITTEE TALKS ABOUT THEIR WORK
The summer is well and truly over and our thoughts are turning now to the possibilities
for events that we are planning to do in 2010.
Our very first year has turned out rather well, with four very different types of
event, ranging from an evening of Stand Up Comedy at the Cockpit Theatre in London
- Stand Up for Peace, a Poetry Recital at the Ludlow Festival, the 10k run in London
and a Charity Art Preview at the Cork Street Open Exhibition.
We need to plan a number of events and this year we are hoping to include some that
actively involve children.
Our current Winter Appeal is to provide school equipment for those in the region
who are desperate for all sorts of things that we take for granted, from writing
equipment and exercise books to computer, sports and musical equipment. So please
give generously by logging on to our Winter Appeal page on this site. You can donate
by cheque to our Head Office, or through the Just Giving link on our Facebook page
or via our safe and secure Donate page through our PayPal account.
As the Charity expands, so does the Events Committee and we have just welcomed the
delightful Mrs Tania Fares to the Committee. As you can imagine the "team" have worked
very hard, while pursuing careers and are hugely committed to alleviating the plight
of the children in the region.
So on to next year. Various suggestions have been made and listed below are some
of the events that will be happening, though please check the website or the Facebook
page to find out more about dates and times.
We are proposing to repeat the hugely successful Stand Up evening and hope for a
May date soon.
The 10k run in London in July has become a perennial. You can support us by or running
individually, or forming a team on our behalf, (COP T- shirts will be provided).
More information will be posted in the New Year.
The hugely talented sculptor Frances Segelman has offered to publicly sculpt the
head of Sir Derek Jacobi for the charity and we are planning an event to coincide
with this. It will be a fun filled event for all the family in February/March of
next year.
We are planning an "Events Pack" so that schools can arrange their own fun fundraising
events for the children. This is coincides with our Winter Appeal and will be available
shortly from the website.
Other events will be announced throughout the next year, so please look for them
on Face Book and the website and please, for the sake of the children who are less
fortunate than ourselves, encourage others to help us to help them.
Events Committee Members:
Richard Clifford
Emma Cohen
Maria Hodson
Alexandra Reed
Dominic Martin
Olivia Taylor
Clare Bolt
Yasemin Saltuk
Tania Fares
Virginia Taylor
CHILDREN OF PEACE APPOINT FUNDRAISER
The Trustees of Children of Peace are delighted to announce that they have appointed
Sarah Fishbourne as our new Fundraiser from January 2010. Sarah brings a wealth of
experience to her new role and is looking forward to enhancing the work of the charity,
our commitment to the protection of children and the development of conflict resolution
programmes and projects in Israel and in Palestine.
Chairman & Founder Richard Martin says:
"I very much welcome Sarah as part of the growing Children of Peace family. Sarah
will be an invaluable member of our team and will support the Chairman's Office in
generating sufficient income to ensure that Children of Peace reaches its charitable
income targets."
CROSSING QALANDIYA - ISRAELI & PALESTINIAN WRITERS DONATE TO CHILDREN OF PEACE
"Peace, living together and security for
all are possible."
Dr. Ibrahim Khraishi Ambassador,
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Geneva
Member of P.L.O. Central Council
“It is obvious that this book is the outcome of a true friendship between two women,
who were wise enough to rise up and see beyond the fears and hostilities”
Shimon Peres, President of Israel
Two women meet by accident at a party - Shireen Anabtawi is a former Director of
Public Relations at the Palestinian Investment Agency in Ramallah, and currently
works for the Palestinian Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva and Daniela Norris
who worked for the Israeli Foreign Service for seven years and later was an adviser
to the Permanent Mission of Israel at the UN, is now a freelance journalist and writer.
Both are mothers, both a similar age. One is Israeli, the other Palestinian. So divided
by fear and hatred are their two countries, they realise they will never be able
to visit one another at home, despite living less than 100km apart. So, they begin
to exchange letters. As their friendship grows they discuss not only their families,
childcare and recipes, but also the wars and ethnic tensions that have shaped their
lives.
Their exchange is fraught with challenge, but is also a sincere desire on each side
to understand the thinking and grievances of the other. Crossing Qalandiya is a moving
and illuminating exchange of ideas - at once accessible and profound, personal and
political - and a beacon of hope in the wilderness of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Chairman & Founder Richard Martin says:
"The writers have generously chosen to donate 5% of the profits from Crossing Qalandiya
to go to Children of Peace. They have identified our charity as a beacon of hope
for the future and one that strongly represents their own position on peace, tolerance
and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians."
To find out more about this wonderful book, please contact:
STEINER SCHOOLS AFFILIATE
TO CHILDREN OF PEACE
The Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship Council has voted enthusiastically to affiliate
with Children of Peace. The charity is extremely pleased to welcome the worldwide
Steiner family and looks forward to forging links between all their schools in our
SchoolsLink programme - where like-minded schools fundraise for the children in Israel
& Palestine, develop academic links, build friendships, share resources and information,
exchange programmes and peace education projects.
THE ARCHIVES
