We are happy to share that we just completed our Phase 2 project with Kikori. We have been working on developing age appropriate variations for the activities that were on the Kikori platform. This phase of the project which began in July was actually a continuation of a process that began in early 2022 with uploading over 250 activities to the Kikori platform. 

Happy New Year to all! We started our year creating a wonderful experience on January 15th where we met to celebrate ourselves and our work with PFP.

At the beginning of December Regional Coordinator, Andres Armas traveled from Guatemala to El Salvador to conduct a Play for Peace session with the Suchitoto Club. A friend and writer of Andres, Veronica Rozotto joined to document her experience. Thank you Veronica for sharing this beautiful piece with us!

Thank you for your dedication to this year's partnership with Kikori, Jessica! We can't wait to see what the future holds for you as your gifts and talents are used to better this world.

The home is the first foundation of your child’s support system. It’s their safe space, where they can be themselves without judgment. Listen, empathize and validate their emotions and problems. They need to know it’s okay to not be like the other kids...

Rural communities are highly vulnerable to climate change. Colorado State University lists a few reasons behind this, one of which is rural residents’ lower income rates. This leaves them with fewer resources to pay for the consequences of climate change, such as flash flooding.

This mini bite-sized update comes from the Healing Play club in Burundi where 150 participants and 6 youth leaders create lasting change in their local communities.

"One of the indicators of the magic of the day was the joy and connection that participants left with and the choice they all made to spend the evening together rather than..."
 

These are just some life stories of people who, in their youth, believed in the importance of PFP for their formation as leaders of peace. They now inspire other people to form new leadership for a better world, there are...

"Thus, I started my journey with PFP and went back to the joy that I experienced through play in my childhood.  After the two days, I felt a deep resonance to the purpose of offering that joy to anyone and /or everyone who was present at the various schools I visited..."

Why do we easily place harsh labels on children when they’re not meeting our expectations? Why do we have such high expectations for them when we haven’t finished figuring out life ourselves? 

Yasmin got the opportunity to sit down with our co-founder, Craig Dobkin. I wanted to learn more about her encounter with him because I believe that these moments where one generation bonds and teaches the other are beyond sacred. Here’s her account...

The video is of one of our facilitators arriving at home and a group of neighborhood kids greeting her with the PFP opening. Only one of those kids was in our play session the week before. They taught the opening to the other kids and they all now wait for her to arrive in the afternoon to do this with her. Such a great ripple effect! The best thing I've seen in a long time....

The Play for Peace group went to one of the centers to meet the Ukrainian children. In the beginning, the biggest challenge was communication as almost none of us spoke any Russian or Ukrainian. But then the game magic began to work...

"I saw a tweet recently about how children are an oppressed class and we often treat them as one. I felt that. We try to project our unfilled dreams and expectations on them while forgetting they’re also trying to figure this ‘life thing’ out as well -  but at a much slower pace. It is tantamount we are kind to them, in words, actions and expectations..."

"Others were blown away by what they learned and many were extremely grateful to be apart of the project..."

On day five, I saw the last session and the participants read out what they understood their duties and rights were. No document was introduced to them. The detailing of the right to life included joy, food, sleep, love, and respect. In a way, the kids included The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) without having been introduced to these documents! 

This incredible update comes from Nikhil, a certified trainer, and facilitator with Play for Peace. Working with kids comes with its own unique challenges but, honestly? Nikhil's update shows just how much meeting kid's where they are at truly has the most beautiful and profound impact.