"As the year went on the kids began to love our Play for Peace sessions and even asked for it on days we did not have sessions scheduled. To me, this was the ultimate sign of success." - Play for Peace Denver Trainer Dominick Miller
By Dominick Miller When I first heard that our program was receiving a grant for Play for Peace I was overwhelmed with joy. I had little to no knowledge about the Play for Peace program, but what I did know was based on the name alone that it was powerful. Powerful in a way that can influence one’s life for years to come. This meant a lot to me because I love working with and guiding children through positivity and wisdom. At first, the kids did not take well to Play for Peace. It was a new way of play that they had never experienced before. They have been engulfed into a world of competition, where if you are not first you are last and I realized this. So, I did not get offended if a game did not pan out as I had envisioned. I used the many techniques that Craig taught us during our Play for Peace training and they worked! I used non-violent communication with the kids and had them use it on each other. This was interesting to me to see because it was so different from just saying sorry. I feel like it is a much more effective way of communication. They had a chance to express their feelings to one another in a way that compassion was felt.
As the year went on the kids began to love our Play for Peace sessions and even asked for it on days we did not have sessions scheduled. To me, this was the ultimate sign of success. I feel like kids got a lot out of Play for Peace and it will continue with them through life. I am so thankful to be a part of this experience and will continue on my journey of spreading play through peace for years to come.
Dominick Miller is a Play for Peace certified trainer in Denver. Reflections of a Peacebuilder is a new blog series for Play for Peace, in which we will share personal reflections from trainers, mentors, and youth leaders, as well as other members of our global learning community. We invite Play for Peace members to share reflections on their experiences with Play for Peace or thoughts about how we can build more peace in our world. Please contact Maria Dell’Isola at maria@playforpeace.org for more information about how to contribute to this series.
