Kids4Peace

Scarboro Missions and Scouts Canada sponsor an evening of interfaith cooperation among youth

By Nancy Dinnigan-Prashad
March/April 2008

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Eleven years old? You are the perfect age to make friends with young people of different cultures and religions, and have lots of fun doing it. That's the premise behind Kids4Peace, which brings together boys and girls from Israel and Palestine with their counterparts in North America to have a great time. A group of 12 children from the Middle East joins a group of 12 in the host country. In each group, four are Muslim, four are Jewish and four are Christian, divided equally between girls and boys.

The program was the inspiration of Henry Carse at St. George's College in Jerusalem. How, he wondered, could young people be brought together to learn from each other? He concluded that the appropriately peaceful atmosphere to achieve this could not be found in Israel. But if the children were young enough to be open-minded and old enough to travel, perhaps they could go to a location where armed conflict would not distract them.

The program began in 2002 with Houston and Atlanta as host cities. Toronto was added in 2004 and Vermont is the newest addition. In 2007, Toronto hosted 12 children from Galilee and will do the same this year. Jewish, Muslim and Christian volunteers in Toronto raise money during the year and handle all programming.

The children in each country become acquainted with each other during the year before camp time arrives through planned events, which create a bonding process. Online communications start the groups off in getting to know each other across the world. Counsellors are part of the process to help break down any barriers that might exist.

All photos courtesy of Fr. Joseph Harrigan, S.J. At the Kids4Peace event, young participants watch intently
... as others sing songs and offer prayers for peace.

The Toronto camp is held at the non-denominational Outward Bound campsite in Burk's Falls, about a 90 minute drive north of Toronto in the beautiful cottage region of Muskoka, Ontario. Camp lasts a week and closes with the Abraham Tent, an exercise that gives the children of these three Abrahamic faiths an opportunity to act out part of their religious beliefs and see how much they have in common. It is emphasized that Abraham taught his followers to share.

The bus then heads back to Toronto where participating families each host a visiting child for the final three days. The 10-day program also includes a day trip to Niagara Falls, a barbecue, and visits to Jewish, Christian and Muslim places of worship in Toronto. Youth participants and adult volunteers are often surprised to discover that not only do they learn about two other religions, but they also gain a new perspective about their own faith.

On November 13, 2007, Scarboro Missions and Scouts Canada jointly sponsored an event to promote Kids4Peace. The gathering at the Scarboro Mission Centre in Toronto attracted interested families, Scouts and community members from various faiths who wanted to know more about the program. A large contingent of Ahmadiyya Muslim youth were also in attendance. The Ahmaddiya Muslims are making a major contribution to interfaith activity on a Canada-wide level.

There were introductions and passionate presentations by the organizers and fundraisers. During the program, young people, including past and potential participants, offered a prayer for peace. Each lit a candle. Then, led by adult volunteers, they sang a song for peace in Hebrew.

Afterwards, over refreshments, there was a chance for socializing and talking. Olivia, Daniel and Kayla, 2007 campers, were enthusiastic about the experience. When a hopeful participant mentioned that she would like to go because she thinks it will be fun, Daniel's immediate response was, "It IS a LOT of fun!"

Ashleigh & Stephanie met on the bus on the way to the 2006 Kids4Peace camp and have remained friends.

Both Kayla and Daniel said they found out about the program via email messages telling them there were openings for a Jewish girl and boy. Checking further online, Daniel's reaction was "Oh cool, let's do it!" Olivia's friend had attended in 2006, so although she thought she knew what to expect, she found "it was different" as well.

Stephanie, who is Jewish, and Ashleigh, a Catholic, represented the 2006 Toronto group at this promotional event. They had met on the bus heading to camp and have remained friends, a bond that was evident during the evening. "It's really, really fun and you don't have to know anyone," said Stephanie. "You just meet friends there."

Ashleigh learned a little Hebrew at the camp, although it hasn't stayed with her. For her, the best part was "making friends with every religion." Both described the end of their 2006 adventure as both sad and happy. Stephanie's favourite memory was "afterwards, getting everyone's emails." Her guest camper had diabetes and was accompanied by an adult advisor/translator fluent in three languages. As the camper knew no English, and Stephanie's family spoke no Hebrew, every word was translated, an experience that Stephanie describes as "kind of cool."

Scouts helping to set up for the evening's event and providing material to young participants from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

Do you doubt that the people of the world want peace and unity? Kids4Peace organizers say their idea to make the world a better place is a very simple one... send kids to camp. And Kids4Peace is one of a multitude of youth movements seeking to promote peace. As Paul McKenna of the Scarboro Missions Interfaith Desk said at the event, "We are not alone. What's happening in this room is part of a worldwide interfaith movement promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue among youth."

Scarboro Missions has a 10-year history of bringing the world's religions to young people and bringing young people to the world's religions. Interfaith events at their headquarters, at places of worship in the Toronto area, and in the classrooms of the Catholic school system give Grade 11 and 12 World Religions students the opportunity to hear from members of other faith traditions and to ask whatever questions they may have.

Supporting Kids4Peace also accords well with Scouts Canada's focus. Within the three fundamental Scouting principles: Duty to God, Duty to Others, Duty to Self, Scouts are encouraged to understand the true meaning of service to others by following the example and teaching of their own religion. Scouts Canada is working hard to increase diversity within their membership and encourage interfaith understanding.

Adeel, Sophie, Emma and Alex all want to attend the Kids4Peace 2008 camp. What do they hope for and expect? "Fun. And to learn more about other religions," says Alex, who is Catholic, while Sophie, who is Jewish, expects "a good camp experience." Alex and Sophie speak with the confidence of experience. They are the younger siblings of 2007 participants and have already hosted participants from Israel. Emma says her parents found out about the program through their church "and then I found about it and I thought it would be fun."

Adeel is Muslim. He and his parents attended the event at Scarboro Missions to hear about the Kids4Peace program. The evening was his first exposure to Kids4Peace and he quickly decided it was for him, a wish that was supported by his parents. Impressed by the Powerpoint images showing campers fully engaged and having fun, Adeel said, "I just want to go there and have the time of my life!"

Nancy Dinnigan-Prashad writes and consults on issues of environmental health, justice and human rights. She is a Baha'i.

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