Peace camps for children and youth in India and Pakistan
Pritam Rohila
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
4410 Verda Lane NE, Keizer, OR 97303, USA
asia...@comcast.net
January 18, 2010
Peace camps for children and
youth in India and Pakistan
Dear Friends:
I am sure what is currently going on in many parts of South Asia is a
source of concern to many people. We, at the Association of Communal
Harmony in Asia (ACHA), have decided to do something about it.
We will work with South Asian peace and harmony activists and
supporters to develop and initiate peace-building programs for youth
and children in India and Pakistan. Also we have sought guidance from
a couple of American Peace Psychologists.
An ideal program should help youth and children learn skills in
independent thinking, empathetic listening, and cooperative problem-
solving and compassionate conflict-resolution. It should help them to
inculcate the noble values of kindness, compassion, tolerance and
nonviolence. It should assist them in adopting ways of living in
peace and harmony with others, especially those who differ from them
in social status, religious beliefs, and national origin. Finally, it
should enable them to become decent human beings and good members of
their family, neighborhood, nation and the global village. We expect
the program would help foster a culture of peace, tolerance and
harmony WITHIN as well as BETWEEN not only India and Pakistan but also
in other South Asian nations.
For this purpose, sometime this year, with the help of local peace and
harmony activists and supporters, we would like to organize peace
camps for youth and children in a few selected places in India and
Pakistan. For an example of peace camp please check out Dr. Jody
Dempsey’s article, “Teaching Peace through Fun: 17 Years of a Peace
Camp for Kids,” in the Articles of the Months section at
http://www.asiapeace.org/acha/01-15-2010.htm
We are now collecting stories, poems, songs and other suitable group
and individual activities in Urdu, Hindi, and English), which can be
used in peace camps. Also we are looking for volunteers who can help
us fund, organize, and conduct these peace camps. Please let us know
at asia...@comcast.net if you can help us.
ACHA is a small, US-based organization, which is dedicated to promote
peace in South Asia, and harmony among South Asians everywhere. More
information about us is available at our two websites www.asiapeace.org
& www.indiapakistanpeace.org
Best Wishes,
Pritam
Pritam K. Rohila, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
asia...@comcast.net