30 March 2007
Children are the Peacebuilders in India
Children are not often asked for their opinions on the big
issues of life, but church partners in India and the UK have
decided that children are the perfect place to start when talking
about peace. This Easter, representatives from the Methodist and
United Reformed Churches are visiting India to ask children what
they think needs to be done to build a more peaceful future.
Peacebuilders Ð Children for Peace is a programme by the United
Reformed and Methodist Churches in Great Britain, working with the
Church of North India and the Hyderabad-based Henry Martyn
Institute for research, interfaith relations and reconciliation.
Starting with groups of children, they aim to share knowledge and
experiences, working together towards peace on many levels from
local to international.
The launch of Peacebuilders on Saturday 7 April in Delhi will be
attended by street children, UN organisations, NGOs, church leaders
and children from local schools. It will feature songs, drama and
stories from local children and a preview of the Peacebuilders
DVD.
Sudipta Singh, Director of Programmes for the Church of North
India, has warmly welcomed the opportunity of this unique
co-operation, 'Children are central to our Church, peace is central
to our faith so we are delighted to be working together in this way
with our British colleagues.'
Ruby Beech, Vice-President Designate of the Methodist Conference,
is among the visiting party. She says: 'Peace is everyone's
responsibility and children have a huge role to play, in fact it's
the children who often push us to work harder for peace. We're not
telling children what to do to create peace in their communities Ð
we are here to listen and let them teach us.'
During their stay in India, Stephen Orchard, Moderator Designate of
the United Reformed Church, Steve Pearce, Methodist Children's
Secretary and Ruby will visit projects such as the Sultan Shahi
School, which provides schooling for children, men and women from
local Muslim and Hindu communities. It aims to make community
peace-building central to all its activities. They will also visit
schools, an outreach to slum children and an inter faith community
centre at Bankura. They will celebrate Easter day in local
churches.
Stephen says: 'In today's society, it is so clear that our
communities Ð and the whole world Ð need peace. Peacebuilders is
about taking small, and perhaps some larger, steps for peace. We
believe that by working together and using our enthusiasm and
experience we can make more peace, day by day.'
Groups are encouraged to make their own 'Peace Boxes' featuring the
Peacebuilders logo in which they can put ideas for making peace a
reality in their communities. The box will move round other groups
in the community so that people can share and add to the
suggestions, hopes and prayers. Ruby and Stephen will present two
Peace Boxes made by children in Britain to the children in
Hyderabad and Delhi.
Educational material to support the initiative will be available
from June 2007.