“I thought it would be fun, but I couldn’t have been prepared to have my life and perspective forever transformed,” says David Miller, an Indianapolis native studying biology at Xavier University. The Alternative Break movement promotes active citizenship among US university students through direct service, reflection, and education about pressing social issues in and outside of the United States. When Xavier students decided to participate in their second annual Alternative Break program with Service For Peace and Global Peace Connect, they couldn't have expected the depth of the experience together with El Quimal.

El Quimal is a Community of Peace nestled in the mountains of Guatemala. It is a humble but inspiring community that fiercely protects its indigenous Mayan heritage, its customs, the education of its children, and its commitment to community. Months ago when discussions began about the program, community leaders and residents met with Service For Peace and Global Peace Connect representatives. Based on a previous community needs assessment and dialogue among community residents, the community decided on its next priority: the construction of a protective wall surrounding a make-shirt community sports court below the elementary school. The sports court is virtually the only common, central area where everyone can meet — adult, kids, women, men, athletically inclined or not. Perched on a cliff, there were always concerns about the safety of kids playing.

This project addressed the need — as expressed and driven by community members in El Quimal — for a safety precaution. For months, Xavier students spent time researching Guatemala and its culture, acquainting itself with El Quimal through representatives from Service For Peace and Global Peace Connect. Finally the volunteers arrived and were welcomed to El Quimal with a celebration and performance organized by the school. What ensued over the next week was not only inspirational but purely magical. Community members and volunteers alike worked side-by-side, taking turns wielding hammers, mixing cement, pouring concrete and laying blocks. Stories were shared; barriers were crossed; and social issues were explored deeply time and again.

The best part?

It’s not the end. Not only is Xavier committed to returning next year to assist in addressing a community-identified need, whether it be related to the same issue or different, but the community is committed to caring for the newly constructed wall. They are excited to use it, to continue to share the legacy of intercultural partnership, or assistance with dignity.

As one volunteer, Marissa Carlson, puts it, “Service For Peace builds relationships, not dependency. Service For Peace has ignited my passion for life.”

The cycle continues as El Quimal prepares for future programs in and around the school and community, and especially to continue to enjoy and grow sustainable partnerships both locally and internationally.

Janna Gullery is the International Program Director at Service For Peace. Having previously worked for 6 years with SFP in Latin America & the Caribbean, she has witnessed the transformation and strengthening of Communities of Peace throughout the region alongside long-term partnerships. She is an NYC native passionate about all of her communities, both locally and beyond.

“I left plates on the table and everything else including the house”.  These are the words of a community member explaining to the Service For Peace (SFP) team her escape from the flooding that engulfed their community following the building of a sewer.

The community in this case is La Rapressa in the Dominican Republic. A group of SFP team members together with international volunteer participants had arrived in this community to implement one of SFP’s programs — the Global PeaceMakers (GPM). It was already clear what the task at hand was — to find a solution that would bring to an end the flooding ensuring that the community had their homes safe again.

Twelve days is what it took to make a difference. During this period, the GPM participants together with community members joined together lifting blocks of stone and placing them together to construct what is now a levee along a section of the community. Through this form of focused service that the GPM provides, the community was left feeling safe again that when the rainy season arrived, they would have nothing to fear as they would have their houses safe from the floods.

And well, they say ‘a picture (or a video) is worth a thousand words’. How can we best relay the GPM story other than sharing the experience through this video taken during the construction of the levee in the community of La Rapressa?

Service For Peace has been working in the community of La Rapressa starting in 2006 and has built a model school, in addition to a multi-purpose sports court. And while the organization has largely had a focus on education as the key factor in driving development, thus, the focus on building model schools, the organization also recognizes the need for interventions that enhance the development process. In the same way, a school feeding program serves as an intervention in enhancing the learning goals, the construction of the Levee was an urgent problem that was on the minds of the community residents in La Rapressa and having solved that increased greater trust in having SFP as a partner in development in this community.

We hope this highlight connects you to the GPM experience. We would like to hear your feedback, which you can provide based on (but not limited to) the questions below.

• What are your thoughts about the Global PeaceMakers Program?
• Did you ever think that 12 days or 2 weeks of your life could have significant impact for a developing community? And would you consider being part of such a program? If so, what would motivate you to join the program?

To learn more about the Global PeaceMakers program, please visit serviceforpeace.org or write to Janna Gullery at jgullery@serviceforpeace.org.

By Becky Gitonga

In an earlier article, I shared some of the community driven development initiatives from Nepal that were highlights during the Global Peace Convention that was held in Seoul, Korea in November (2011).

Among the initiatives shared by Saroj Khanal (Service For Peace Executive Director in Nepal), I was very much inspired by the story about women that finally had the opportunity to join a literacy class that taught them to read and write Nepali. The women in this case are not teen girls or women in their 20’s, most of these are women in the late thirties and forties. For these women going to school was not an option while growing up. Traditionally, the girls did not have the privilege of going to school. It was more expected for them to stay home and help with house-hold chores, eventually would get married, have children and take care of their families.

What this means is that a majority of the women in Nepal never had the opportunity to be educated. In the case of Nepal, women take on double shifts — taking on household chores and working in the fields — but have minimal participation in decision-making. Besides that, many of them experience difficulty getting along their normal days when they have to join communal places and expected to interact with others.

One woman shared an experience of having been on a bus and taking a seat only to have someone ask her to vacate. What she didn’t know was that each of the seats was usually marked for the riders. Such an experience left her feeling ashamed and with lots of guilt about her life. And for many of these women, the dream and the desire to be able to read and write was something that remained with them through their years.

So when Service For Peace began the literacy class, it did not matter what age they were; they were just glad to finally have an opportunity to read and write.

The impact of the literacy class for these women is best depicted in the effort they initiated following their participation in the literacy class — the effort to reach out to their fellow women sharing with them the experience of learning and finding ways to get them to join the class. Below I highlight some of those efforts:

Volunteering to bring books to villages

In one of the slides shared by Saroj , we see some pictures of women on bicycles with a container on the back written ‘Service For Peace’ on one side and on another ‘Mobile Library’.

Listening to Saroj, we learn that these women volunteer to ride the mobile libraries into the community once a week. Having established that many of the women were having difficulty taking the trip to go read or borrow books from the stationed libraries (Service For Peace has also initiated mini libraries within the community), some of the women volunteered to be bringing books to the villages. Service For Peace through partners was able to supply six bicycles with boxes that carry about 50 books, out of which 60 books are borrowed per week.

A testimonial shared by two of the women who took the class stated:

“I now know the value of education. I am glad to ride the bicycle to bring books to the villages. The praise and encouragement that I get from doing this is so motivating. And through the class, I have benefited from a goat scholarship that has become my income source and also provides milk (protein) for my family.”  —Tara Magar, 35 years

“I joined the literacy school and studied for 3 months. I got free books through the mobile library. I am now able to read and write in Nepali. I feel I can see the world now. I have experienced the difference between my illiterate life and now. Now I know how to treat my children. I know the power of hygiene. I now have self respect. I don’t have to be humiliated in front of people. I can now count and read for myself”.  — Sita Kyapchaki, 37 years old

A Letter and One Rupee

In addition to the mobile libraries initiative, the women also began an effort that was another testament of the empowerment of the literacy class. On one part, was a genuine motivation to reach out to their fellow women to encourage them to join the class; they did this by writing a letter to their women neighbors and others that they knew in the community. The writing of the letter was also a way for them to practice what they had learnt (reading and writing in Nepali). In the letter the women would share their experience having been part of the class and also on the opportunities that were opening up based on their ability to read and write. For those that were doing well in class, they could now be given an opportunity to work with Service For Peace for some hours and they could make some little money. As part of this noble effort to share with their fellow women and impart their experiences, the women also began the ‘one rupee’ initiative, where they now give one rupee and to rally others within the community to give one rupee in order for more women to join the class.

In some of the cases when the women would write the letters to their fellow women, they would include one rupee as a way to extend the invitation for the women to consider joining the class.

The dream of wearing a uniform

And just when I had thought I had heard the last of these very self-driven efforts, we learned that the women also came together one day and decided to make uniforms.  Saroj was himself one day surprised when he visited the class and found the women in uniform. When he asked who requested them to make uniforms, the women shared of a desire they always had to wear school if they had been part of a school. Now that they were in a school, they joined effort to make their uniforms.

Not only was all this very inspiring for me but was a true testament of true empowerment and true ownership! And no doubt it was clear that for many of the women, the literacy class had given them a new lease of life and an affirmation that anything is achievable.

Over the past three years, about 571 women have been part of the literacy class that was initiated by Service For Peace in Nepal.

By Becky Gitonga