2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the UN decreed
International Day of Peace and for the fourth time the International Day of
Peace Alliance Inc. ran the Origami Peace Doves Project in commemoration of
this Peace Day. Doves even found their way to Soroptimists in Nigeria with the help of Soroptimist Chris Knight, from SI South West Pacific! This week’s SoroptiVoice blog comes from two young women who coordinated this peace action.
The Origami Peace Doves Project involves young people in
Queensland making paper origami doves, which are then sent to children in
conflict zones, or areas of social or environmental
hardships around the world. As little messages of friendship, the doves carry
symbolic wishes of peace and goodwill from children in our ‘safe’ communities to their distant
friends in zones of war, conflict or trauma.
Starting in 2007,
the project ran at a small scale and has grown tremendously. This year’s
project has seen over five thousand doves sent to children in thirty-nine
orphanages, schools and shelters across fourteen countries. These countries
were India, Uganda, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nicaragua, Philippines,
Russia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Ukraine, Nigeria, Timor Leste and Nepal.
In previous years the other countries that have received
doves included Kenya, Afghanistan, Mexico, West Africa and Myanmar. This year has also
seen doves delivered to shelters in Thailand which care for children who
have been rescued from the sex trade. Thank you goes to the Grey Man
Organisation for enabling us to get in contact with these shelters. Thanks also
to the Soroptomist sisters in Nigeria who received doves as part of this years project through Chris Knight and her club SI Moreton North. See the wonderful photos below!
From the feedback we have received the doves really have
carried the message of peace to the children who’ve made them and those who
received them. Each year we aim to increase on the previous years’ efforts, and
to spread the message of peace to children and adults alike. Students and
teachers everywhere are encouraged to discuss peace, what it means and why
peace is so important. We are touched that so many people
participated and that Australian students took the time to make such a huge
number of doves to celebrate peace and spread the message onto others. Below is a message from Ruby in Grade 1 at St Anthony’s
School in Alexandra Hills in Queensland.
Coordinators Sarah Cowley and Shelley Webb are both Social
Science students at the University of Queensland and are extremely proud and excited by this
year’s efforts. Both of us are extremely grateful to all people who have
participated.
All people are encouraged to participate in the Origami Doves
Project in the years to come – whether it be by making the doves, suggesting
places that we could send the doves too, being recipients of the doves, or by
just talking about peace with your friends and family. The message is simple –
Peace for all.
For any more information please email doves@idpa.org.au or visit www.idpa.org.au or find us on Facebook.
In Peace,
Sarah and Shelley