After traveling for six weeks, today we can stop for a moment to enjoy the morning without rushing to leave immediately. We meet heart to heart to deliver a message of peace. Visiting from house to house to tell stories about the spirit of peace where they plant and we water and now we share a spirit to tell the world that peace is possible.
In 2011 the first international training was held. Dean Hoover, Sharon, Sarah, Nadine Hoover, Theresa Longva, and Autumn with Friends Peace Teams, visited Pati, Central Java Indonesia. They arranged the place, designed shelves, trained in making blocks, and prepared the materials for children and families to play, learn and share experiences comfortably. On the way, we discussed the name of the place we built. And it was named Peace Place, with the hope that this place would be for everyone to study in peace.
After the training, we continued to learn about child development. In 2012 we opened a school program starting with three children. We practice AVP tools and classify materials. It took 6-7 years for us to persevere there. Now it is growing by embracing all children with normal and different skills.
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to visit Dean Hoover and Sharon’s family in Delaware. We are very happy to see them both in good condition. Many stories were told. One thing that touched our hearts and surprised us was that they said “We are old, as if this work did not continue after we were gone, but after hearing about the progress in the Peace Place that had been shared, I feel alive again. This work is multi-generational!”.
In this meeting we would like to convey to them our gratitude and thanks for all the support given, so that Peace Place truly becomes a beautiful shade-filled place that is comfortable for children and families to study together, exactly like the original idea when setting it up. May the visits and stories we share give new hope and strength to continue working.