The Peace Project


The Peace Project is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2010 by marketing and new media entrepreneur Lisa Schultz. The Peace Project's mission is to promote peace in its most tangible form: helping people in need.[1] The Peace Project's initiatives include education, personal mobility, housing, vocational skills training and micro-lending.

History

The Peace Project, powered by the social networking site TheWhole9.com, was launched in 2010. Sierra Leone was identified as the starting point for their work which has since expanded to include disaster relief and community building work in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.

Immediately after launching, artists from around the world were mobilized to submit their art to The Peace Project's 1st Annual Call for Artists via TheWhole9.com. Since then, artists from around the world have submitted peace-related art which results in an annual art exhibit that travels throughout the United States. The Call for Artists and traveling exhibits have helped to provide funding for The Peace Project's work including Operation Rise.[2]

Projects

Operation Rise, Sierra Leone

The Peace Project's inaugural endeavor was in Sierra Leone; Operation Rise provided crutches to people, many of whom, due to the loss of limbs through amputation during the civil war as well as disabilities, had little personal mobility.

On September 11, World Peace Day 2011, The Peace Project distributed 10,000 pairs of crutches to amputees, polio survivors and women and children across the entire country of Sierra Leone.[3][4] According to Mahimbo Mdoe, the country representative for UNICEF which supported The Peace Project on this effort, a pair of crutches can change someone's life "For these people, it will mean they are able to move around," he said, adding that it will allow men and women to hold jobs, while children will be able to get to and from school. "To the person who gets a pair, it will be everything." [5]

Peace Tips

During the planning stages of Operation Rise, it was discovered that the plastic tips of crutches wear out within one month at which point crutches begin to deteriorate, thereby hindering the sustainability of crutch distribution efforts. In early 2011, The Peace Project began working with Thomas Fetterman, an inventor who specializes in crutches and crutch tips, to find a solution. Utilizing a crutch tip perfected by Fetterman over a twenty-five-year period that can last up to one year, Fetterman and The Peace Project created a design that has a peace sign cut into the bottom—with each step, a peace sign imprint is left in the ground.[6]

Family to Family, Philippines

After Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon recorded at landfall, devastated portions of the Philippines on November 8, 2013, The Peace Project sought a way to assist some of the people that had been left homeless. Working with a team of architects and engineers, The Peace Project designed a small house that has about $500 in building materials and can be built within a day. Utilizing this design and a unique model whereby for a donation of $500, individuals or organizations can select a family and sponsor the building of their house, and with the support of local tradesmen and community volunteers, The Peace Project completed their first community of forty houses on Bantayan Island on November 8, 2014, the anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ Devon Wilke, Lorraine. "Some People Talk About Change, Lisa Schultz of The Peace Project Makes It". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Haas, Cherie. "2011 Peace Project: A Call for Artists". Artists Network. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Morris, Lynn. "Disabled in Sierra Leone make gains". Global Post. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Morris, Lynn. "Operation Rise: Hope from the Ashes for Amputees". Eco Salon. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Lynch, Renee. "Culver City gallery owner gives crutches to Sierra Leone disabled". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Devon Wilke, Lorraine. "Some People Talk About Change, Lisa Schultz of The Peace Project Makes It". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Peace Project Helps Rebuild Village in Philippines Devastated by Typhoon Haiyan". Asian Week. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Take Two. "The Peace Project builds homes in areas still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan". NPR, KPCC. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.