Spreading peace
A programme is introducing peace to pupils in Hanover Park and other areas of neglect and violence
ONE of my favourite quotes is: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Gustav Jung. I understand this to mean that the ideas I have in my head only become real when action is taken. This quote was on some posters at Groenvlei High where we had organised a Peace Awareness Day.
We made colourful and exciting posters promoting peace at school in prominent places. The Grade 11s also had a great success with their project to create a day of hope for 60 vulnerable kids from Hanover Park.
I am a Grade 12 learner, and those of us who live in Hanover Park are surrounded by violence coming at us from all directions. Everything seems dark and grey and there’s broken glass and dirt lying around in the neighbourhood. People are killed on a regular basis.
We constantly hear about negative things. Things that are so abnormal seem normal in Hanover Park. The people are mostly stressed and not hopeful that things will really change.
I was never involved in peace activities and did not think of peace in terms of doing good on a regular basis. Then we were introduced to the Peace Ambassador Programme and everything turned around.
I was chosen to attend and to me it was just an opportunity to get out of class.
To my surprise, everything in the peace programme was comfortable, informative – and completely mind-blowing.
Professor Brian Williams and his team were extraordinary. They began with inner peace as the starting point. It was extremely powerful and it stuck with me.
It made me think about life, me and my mindset. The programme made me realise I was not at peace with myself. If I was not at peace with myself I could not have been at peace with anyone else.
Before and during the Peace Ambassador Programme, I was at a phase in my life where every little thing triggered anger in me. I was in a bad space and not happy with myself. It felt as if everything had gone wrong. Negativity filled my mind.
The professor said that we must define peace. We were put into groups and spoke about being at ease with ourselves, having peace of mind, having values, having goals and achieving them. Then it hit me. It hit me really hard; I didn’t focus on any of those. I set myself a simple goal – to focus.
And so I challenged myself to overcome that problem. I think that to define peace for yourself is a good way to understand peace and its different parts.
Groenvlei High hosted peace ambassadors from two other high schools in Hanover Park .
Some learners from Crystal and Mountview high schools had never been to our school before and were seen strolling around the school grounds. This was not on. Mr Tony Adamson, our principal, sternly marched them back to the hall and they did not walk around the grounds after that.
Mr Adamson addressed and motivated us to work for peace and justice in our lives, families and communities.
We had to develop peace action strategies to bring peace and light to the lives of others. We had a research framework to follow to complete our peace projects.
The professor said that the data had to be reliable to ensure that project results could be validated.
The Grade 11s identified their project to get at least 60 vulnerable kids in Hanover Park to have a day of fun at the school. The grade got permission from the principal and collected money, and the educators contributed.
Mr Patrick Hendricks, the deputy principal, told the Grade 11s they had to apply the skill of accounting to explain how the money was spent. Peace also has accountability features, he said.
The Grade 11 peace project was a great success. The children were filled with happiness. They were able to play all day without the fear for gunfire and violence. They were able to experience caring without the expectation of anything in return.
The idea was also to allow the kids to experience the school. We took them out of a dangerous environment. Sport and activities were arranged and party packs were handed out on the day.
Aashiqah Pekeur, one of the peace ambassadors, noted: “We played games such as soccer and netball, had dancing and exercising.”
Of course children wouldn’t be children if they didn’t complain of hunger. We had hot dogs and party packs, as well as prizes for the winners of the dancing competition.
We also had a little talk to them about peace. Some gave some very mature and interesting answers, giving us hope that peace can be achieved. “
Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that “Peace is every step.” And we are taking this journey one step at a time.