Children's Peace Train

Children's Peace Train and Aid for Children Projects of the World Dream Peace Bridge The latest information on the group can be found at:

http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/monthyupdates.htm

The Peace Train Project The idea for The Aid for Children Project did not come from one specific dream, but rather seemed to grow organically, as members of The World Dreams Peace Bridge watched with horror the effect of advancing U.S. troops on the children of Iraq.

May Tung, herself a refugee from China when she was a little girl, was the first to mention the idea of helping the children of Iraq. She suggested sending not food or water, but therapeutic aids like stuffed toys, crayons and paper, which could be used to help the children deal with trauma.

It was when we scheduled the first Dream Incubation for Children in early April that the idea really took hold, when it was discovered that several people had been dreaming not just for but with the children of Iraq. And then people began to talk about how, during childhood illness or other difficulty, some stuffed toy or doll had been a cherished friend or listener to secrets told to no one else.

At the request of the group, Ilkin Sungu, who lives in Istanbul, went to the offices there of UNICEF, where she was told that there were already therapists in place and goods being shipped from Turkey to refugee camps in Iraq. The director of UNICEF's Istanbul office offered a deep discount on the types of stuffed toys, crayons, paper and pencils we were looking for as well as enthusiastic support for the proposed program. Ilkin was assured that she could personally oversee the shipments, and that even cards and pictures from dreamers around the world could be sent to the children. Thus the Aid for Children Project was born. If you would like to contribute to this project, just send a check to:

Aid for Children
The iMAGE Project
408 Elmhurst Lane
Portsmouth VA 23701 USA

or check the World Dreams Peace Bridge
http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/index.htm for updates.
(Note: The iMAGE Project is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization managed by World Dreams moderator Jean Campbell. All funds designated for the Aid for Children Project will go directly to the children. All donations are tax deductible.)

Along the way to this dream-created communication with the children of Iraq, another interesting thing developed. First came an e-mail to the Peace Bridge from Jeremy Seligson's nine-year-old daughter Elloisa (Ellie) in Korea, and then another from Victoria Quinton's Australian daughter, Emily, just turned nine. Soon Julian joined in from the United States, and before we knew it, there were Kids on the Bridge.

The Kids on the Bridge program is still developing. There are plans for a discussion board on the World Dreams web site, and for dream-related and peace-related activities for the kids. But most definitely this is a first in the community of dreamers, a place where kids can have their own space for discussion and development of projects.

If your own kids are interested in dreams and peace, and might like a place to explore these with other kids from around the world, send an email to jeansdream2002@yahoo.com, or watch this space for updates.

The World Dreams Peace Bridge continues to grow. Several new members have joined the Peace Bridge discussion group in the past month, and there have been enough Peace Train activities starting around the world that a special Peace Train discussion list has been created at Yahoogroups specifically for Peace Train conductors. If you would like to create a Peace Train, you can join the list by sending an e-mail to peacetrainproject-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

We're acting now, because those who are children today will be the adults of tomorrow, and we want to ensure that the people of the world in the future expect to find friends around the world, and to make bridges, in peace, co-operation and creativity, in order to overcome shortfalls in the world as it seems now.