NEWS DESK
NEWS DESK STORIES
Click a link or scroll down.
PATRONS:
MADONNA
SIR DEREK JACOBI
ROYAL PATRON:
HH THE BEGUM
AGA KHAN
Copyright Children of Peace;
design and build by
THE AMERICAN FUND FOR CHARITIES
Supporting Good Causes Worldwide
CHILDREN OF PEACE WINS FULL SUPPORT OF FRENCH PRESIDENT. NICOLAS SARKOZY GIVES US
HIS “UTTER SOLIDARITY”.
Children of Peace have received an inspirational and powerful message of support
from Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. In his letter to Richard Martin, the
Chairman and Founder of the charity, the President tells the charity that Children
of Peace have his "full and complete support for the work of Children of Peace in
Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The President goes on to say that he wishes to "express his utter solidarity for
your work - in my name, in the name of France and that of the French people."
The full text of the letter (translated from the original French) reads as follows:
Dear Mr. Chairman,
I want to assure you of my full and complete support for the work of Children of
Peace in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Your initiative, because it promotes peaceful coexistence and solidarity between
the people subscribes to those notions of peace and fraternity defended by France
over the generations. Following the recent tragedy of the war in Gaza, your work
is more important than ever. I salute Children of Peace for your dedication and commitment
to the children in the region. Children should never ever suffer the consequences
of conflict in the Middle East and it is our duty, above everything to put in place
the means of protecting them from violence.
France is founded upon the ideal of standing firm against all forms of injustice
and I wish to express my utter solidarity for your work - in my name, in the name
of France and that of all the French people.
Please be fully assured that France will always be on the side of those who suffer
and we will remain ready to work closely with those organisations, including Children
of Peace that help to give future generations the chance to live in a more just and
peaceful world.
I wish you to know that I personally hold you, Mr. Chairman in the highest esteem.
Nicolas Sarkozy
Le Président de la Republique
BRITISH ACTRESS SAMANTHA MORTON JOINS CHILDREN OF PEACE AS A FRIEND
"I believe children have the right to be children." Samantha Morton 2009
Screen, television and stage star, Samantha Morton has been hailed as one of the
foremost actresses of her generation. Her career to date has seen her work with some
of the most respected directors in the world, including Steven Spielberg and Woody
Allen. The diverse and often difficult choices of role she has made are reflected
in the list of accolades including a Golden Globe and two Academy Award nominations.
On her reasons for joining Children of Peace in our work to protect all children
in Israel or Palestine, regardless of faith, gender, community or culture, Samantha
says:
"I support Children of Peace wholeheartedly and offer support and dedication to the
charity as I believe all children have the right to be children."
"ANGEL OF MOSTAR" SALLY BECKER BECOMES GOODWILL AMBASSADOR TO CHILDREN OF PEACE
The Trustees of Children of Peace are delighted to welcome Sally Becker as a Goodwill
Ambassador to the charity. She joins a growing list of distinguished public figures
who wish to dedicate themselves to raising public awareness about our work and who
act as representatives of the charity in the media, in public life and who help the
work of the charity in a number of positive ways.
Sally Becker first became known as the Angel of Mostar whilst rescuing wounded children
from besieged areas of Bosnia. She continued her work throughout the war, organising
humanitarian aid convoys and evacuating around two hundred sick and wounded children
and their families.
When the war spread to Kosovo, she and her volunteers brought many tonnes of humanitarian
aid to the region and in June 1998, Sally crossed the mountains on foot carrying
medical aid for children trapped in the war zone. She was captured by Serb paramilitaries
while attempting to evacuate fifteen sick and wounded children and their families
across the mountains. Upon her release she managed to trace them to a refugee camp
in Albania.
In November 1998, while she was arranging for the children to receive medical treatment,
Sally was shot by masked gunmen. She refused to leave without the children, remaining
in the area for several weeks until her mission was completed.
When the war ended in 1999, Sally returned to Kosovo and opened centres for women
and children suffering from trauma. During the Israel/Lebanon conflict of 2006, Sally
distributed aid to women and children trapped in the war zone.
KING’S ACADEMY, JORDAN TO BE KEY PARTNER
OF CHILDREN OF PEACE
The Trustees of Children of Peace are delighted to welcome King’s Academy as Regional
Partners of Children of Peace and we look forward to working together to protect
all of the region's children, regardless of gender, faith or heritage.
King's Academy was founded by King Abdullah II of Jordan and the school shares many
of Children of Peace's objectives. The Academy wishes to act as a lead partner in
the charity's planned SchoolsLink programme, where like-minded schools across the
region share resources, offer scholarships, exchanges and expertise.
Both institutions strive to confront, identify and deconstruct racial, social and
ethnic boundaries. King's Academy brings together talented students from vastly different
socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds in an environment that fosters the development
of each student as a socially responsible global citizen.
Both organisations believe that the most lasting and meaningful steps towards peace
and conflict resolution start with young people who will one day lead and shape the
world. Cultivating the fundamental values of reconciliation, respect, compassion
and trust in cultures world-wide is critical in children's formative early years.
Chairman of the Board at the Academy, Dr. Safwan Masri says, "King's Academy is delighted
to be collaborating with Children of Peace in their important work in our region.
We look forward with hope and optimism to working together to make a meaningful difference
in the lives of children and to foster a culture of peace."
ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN RACING DRIVERS RACE FOR PEACE
Aric Lapter is an Israeli racing driver and also mechanical engineer and he had designed
and built Israel's first ever Formula racing car based on British Formula Vee standards.
Both Aric and his good friend, Palestinian Rasheed Nashashibi, plan to race Aric's
Formula Vee car for one racing season in the UK, having set up a unique racing team
and project called: RACING 4 PEACE.
Aric and Rasheed have been working together since 2006, test driving and training
with Aric's Formula Vee car in Israel and have tested it on the Formula One racing
circuit at Silverstone.
Their unique collaboration has been the subject of much media interest from Dutch
TV - RTL, German TV ZDF, Italian TV RAI, German FAZ newspaper, Italian "Il Giornale"
newspaper and the UK's "Jewish Chronicle" newspaper, amongst others. Both are also
the subject of a documentary film that will be broadcast in over 50 countries around
the world after the 2009 British Formula Vee racing season is over.
Both Aric and Rasheed are sending out a powerful message of peace for the Middle
East. Together, they have managed to overcome many obstacles. They each proudly display
their own national flag on their racing suits and vehicle. They race for each other
and not against each other.
In this way, both hope to inspire many other people in the area to follow their example
and work together.
Aric and Rasheed would like to serve as role models for Children of Peace. For both
men, they see the need give the children on both sides hope for the future and a
good example of what they can achieve. They intend to add the Children of Peace logo
to their machine and represent the spirit of Children of Peace whenever they race
together for peace, helping with fund raising projects whenever possible.
HELPING THE CHILDREN - SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM EYE HOSPITAL GROUP
Nicky Wynne of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group - a new affiliate of Children
of Peace - outlines the work her organisation carries out in providing vital eye
care health provision for young people in the region.
Photography by Steve Sabella
Fully supportive of the goals of Children of Peace, St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital
Group is delighted to become an affiliated partner of this fantastic charity.
Our eye care health provision is of particular importance to the youth of East Jerusalem,
the West Bank and Gaza as we are the only provider of high standard and charitable
ophthalmic care to children in the region. Over 25,000 people under the age of 18
were treated by our charity in 2008. Poor diet and intermarriage increases the chances
of infants born with congenital diseases, including eye problems such as cataracts,
glaucoma, retinal degeneration and eye malformations. There is often more than one
child in each family with inherited conditions.
Photography by Steve Sabella
Although 80% of blindness is preventable, social issues and lack of education prevent
many children from receiving the correct eye care. Families feel ashamed if their
offspring have eye problems and children can be hidden at home and not sent to school.
We do our upmost to eradicate the many social stigmas associated with eye problems,
many of which, including amblyopia (lazy eye or squints), are curable if treated
in time.
In 2009, to treat children of the locality, St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group
must raise over £360,000.
AFFILIATE FOCUS: WINDOWS
In this article, Hannah Weitzer of Windows explains how their work develops a strong
and sustainable sense of partnership between Israelis and Palestinians, despite recent
political turbulence. In this update – following the Gaza conflict, she sees hope
for the future.
“The past months have been difficult for all of us, and those of us work in the field
of Jewish-Palestinian partnership have found ourselves and our beliefs challenged
to the core as violence erupts, erasing many of the achievements accumulated over
the years.
Despite it all, we remain determined to continue our work. We have been impressed
with our team members and their committed responses, working together, as a joint
Israeli-Palestinian team to cope with our own feelings and opinions, and to respond
to changes in the situation. Due to the Gaza War, we adapted our programme when deemed
necessary, including adding single identity group meetings, for both youth and team
members, and using video-conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings for some of
the young people.
Unfortunately, we expect that there will be long-term effects from this violence,
even after it dies down, which will impact our work in the coming year. The silver
lining of it all is that we see the difference between participants who have gone
through a long-term process and those who have not. The long-term process participants
have exhibited more openness to listening and more willingness to continue the programme,
whereas those who have not gone through such a process are more susceptible to changes
in the surrounding environment. This demonstrates the impact of our programme and
strengthens our resolve to continue.”
THE ARCHIVES
