Peace

Subheading: A Foray into Global and Inner Peace

In Antwerp, my SAS trip actually took me out of Belgium, through the Netherlands, and back to Germany to visit Peace Village International. This is a NGO whose mission is to provide healthcare to children from war torn countries. The organization flies in children from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and several countries in Africa who have severe medical problems. The children receive hospital care and are then flown back to home to be reunited with their families.

Button Bracelets

Inside Peace Village

 We were there to do arts and crafts with the children. A friend of mine recommended that I bring buttons and string to make button bracelets and this went really well (Thanks Sonia!). The children were at first very shy, but enjoyed working on the craft projects. While at the Peace Village all children are spoken to in Germany and are expected to learn Germany quickly. So, I had to put back on my German thinking cap and try my best to remember how to ask basic questions like, “How old are you?” and “What is your name?” I learned that the Itsy Bitsy Spider is not a song sung in Afghanistan, but the kids thought it was funny. Mostly, I resorted to communicating as I did in Russia and other parts of Germany—with hand gestures and miming.

After a morning of crafts, a tour of the village, and a little bit of free time with the kids, our tour took a more contemplative turn as we left Peace Village to visit a gasometer. I’m still not 100% sure what a gasometer is, but this is what it looks like:

The Gasometer

It once was used to store gas(?) for a steel mill, which has since shut down. Now the gasometer is used for traveling art exhibits. So we spent the afternoon going through a Cristos exhibit inside this massive structure. 

Cristos exhibit

Cristos had even created an art installation using the top half of the gasometer. When inside this installation, it resembled the inside of a hot air balloon. There were pillows on the ground inviting visitors to lie down and relax. The best part of being inside the installation was hearing the way sound bounced off of the fabric walls. Laughter echoed in the eeriest way. So it was here, at the end of the day that I was able to find inner peace for a few minutes before the long drive back to the ship.