A Peaceful FORCE Across America

[Sharon DAvis]

Hi, My name is Gennifer Davis and I am 16 years olf and live in =
Portsmouth, OH.

I have a very good friend who is 13 yrs. old, Jason Crowe. He is the =
founder of the Cello Cries On. Once he told me about the organization, I =
knew I had to do everything in my power to help him achieve his goal. =
The Cello Cries On is an organization for young people from all over the =
world working towards one common goal...to build a Peace and Harmony =
Statue to present to the youth of Bosnia. We want the statue to be a =
gift from the kids of the world to the youth of Bosnia, like France gave =
the US the Statue of Liberty. The statue will honor the spirit of the =
Bosnian people, who refused to be defeated by ethnic hatred and who =
continue to welcome and embrace all ethnic and religious groups. The =
statue will honor the spirit of harmony which, like a lone cello, cries =
on in a world too full of violence. And the statue will honor the spirit =
of children around the world who want peace and harmony, not war and =
genocide, to prevail in the new millennium. The idea of the statue arose =
from the 1992 breadline massacre in Sarajevo. In Sarajevo, on May 27, =
1992, at 4:00 in the afternoon, a line of starving people formed outside =
a bakery hoping to get bread. Without warning, a mortar shell fell in =
their midst killing 22 innocent men, women, and children. One man saw =
this from his window and knew he had to do something. But what could he =
do? The following day he went to the crater left by the blast and opened =
fire. His weapon was his cello. His ammunition was his music. For 22 =
days, one day for each of those who had perished, Vedran Smailovic, the =
principal cellist of the Sarajevo Opera Orchestra, played his cello =
while bullets flew all around him. We have commissioned the work of =
sculptor, David Kocha from Indiana. The Children's International =
Peace-and-Harmony Statue will depict 5 children-- the oldest about 15 =
and then decreasing in size/age. The children, representing different =
ethnicities, are on a make-shift bridge holding hands; but the bridge is =
broken and one of the children is reaching very far to grab the other's =
hand. The lead child (the 15-year-old) has two sticks in his hand which =
he is "playing" like a violin. The sculpture portrays the sense of =
innocence of childhood. The kids run, jump, and have fun with a carefree =
attitude and no ulterior motives. The youth have no need for adult =
intervention and sophistication. They don't need a "real" violin, they =
can make their own. Through this innocence and simplicity of childhood =
camaraderie, the cultural divide, depicted by the broken bridge, is =
about to be spanned as the young people reach out for each other. Thus, =
the statue represents the Spirit of Multiculturalism, The Spirit of =
Harmony, and The Spirit of Children and symbolically reveals that the =
union of these spirits form a cultural bridge to peace. Sculpting of the =
statue will be $50,000.00 and does not include transporting to and =
erecting in Bosnia. We have raised approximately $8,000.00 so far, and =
mostly from the "Chain of Hope". The "Chain of Hope" is a chain made of =
paper links, each one sold for $1.00 each and connected together to form =
the chain. I decided that we needed something else to try and raise the =
money for the statue. I have organized a local service corps in my town, =
F.O.R.C.E. (Focused, Organized, Resourceful, Compassionate, Energized =
Youth) Together we have decided to create a Peaceful Force Across =
America (like Hands Across America). I have written to every peace =
organization I can find on the internet, I have written an article for =
StreetMail, a newsletter by Zoomnet Internet Service, my ISP, I have =
spoken to the Ohio Arts Council, I will be speaking at the Power of One =
Conference that Girl Scouts-Seal-of-Ohio is hosting in March, I will be =
speaking at the C.O.O.L.(Campus Outreach Opportunity League) Conference =
at Harvard University in March, I will also be speaking and have a =
poster display at the National Service Learning Conference sponsored by =
the National Youth Leadership Council and Youth Service America in =
April, I have written to community centers, and after school programs =
about the Peaceful Force Across America. I am planning a Harmony Concert =
in the park in Columbus OH next year on the 10th anniversary of the =
breadline massacre. I am now searching for entertainers for the concert, =
ie, musicians, dancers, poets, etc. I hope to have artists throughout =
the park painting, etc, to make money for the statue. I hope to have a =
huge canvas in the park where anyone can make their mark concerning =
peace, be it writing their name, doing art work, writing a poem, or even =
grafiti. The canvas would drape the statue for the unveiling in Bosnia. =
Jason has spoken to the U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and he has promised to =
help once the statue is complete. I recently was selected by Ellie =
Wiesel to attend the Tomorrow Leader's Conference in Boston. While =
there, I met Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, and Mary) I spoke to Peter about =
the statue and he has committed to singing at the unveiling of the =
statue in Bosnia. I am hoping that you think our project is worthy of =
mention in your listserv. We need an avenue such as yours to get the =
word out about the Peaceful FORCE Across America. We hope to connect all =
of the paper chains next year in the afternoon of the Harmony in the =
Park and stretch the chain across the United States. This is a tall =
order and exactly why we need your help. It has been said that it can =
not be accomplished, Hands Across America had some broken links, and =
especially a group of young people trying to accomplish such a feat. I =
truly believe that the Peace and Harmony Statue will have an impact on =
the citizens of Bosnia. Maybe once the statue is erected in their =
country and they look at it day in and day out it will begin to make an =
impression on them. They will realize that youth from all around the =
world want them to have freedom of expression,and the freedom to embrace =
all ethnic and religious groups. They will realize that as young people, =
we have not forgotten their tragedy that took place 10 years ago. It =
might help take our world one step closer to peace. Please consider an =
article in your listserv. We need help getting the word out and the =
chain started all over the U.S., so that on the 10 yr. anniversary, the =
chain will be long enough to stretch across the U.S. and cause a =
Peaceful FORCE Across America, along with raise the necessary funds to =
pay for the statue. If you would like more info on how to create the =
"Chaon of Hope" and make it a service learning project for schools, =
community centers, youth groups , etc. I will be happy to send it to =
you. You can also visit the Cello Cries On website (a non-profit, 501C3 =
organization) at http://www.members.sigecom.net/jdc. The website also is =
host to cafepress, where you can purchase merchandise to help support =
the project.

I look forward to hearing form you.

Peace within,

Gennifer Davis

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can =
change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has"... Margaret =
Mead

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

YouthLearn (http://www.youthlearn.org) brings together youth professionals
to share information on using technology as part of learning, especially in
out-of-school programs. YouthLearn is a service of the Morino Institute,
a nonprofit organization (http://www.morino.org). We hope this list assists you
in your efforts to make a difference in the lives and potential of young people.

Tips:
· To post a message to this group, send an email to
  mailto:youthlearn at listserv.morino.org

· To unsubscribe from this group (either temporarily or
  permanently) or to receive YouthLearn in digest form, go to
  http://www.youthlearn.org/join/mailing.html

· To search the YouthLearn archives, go to
  http://LISTSERV.morino.org/youthlearn.html

· To contact the list facilitator, send an email to
  mailto:pmcketa at morino.org

Be sure to visit http://www.youthlearn.org.
We are adding content all the time!

The Youthlearn discussion forum is powered by L-Soft's LISTSERV(R) software.