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 The School of Peace offers a family-like environment which supports children
and adolescents in their scholastic efforts free of charge. Worldwide, the
Schools of Peace welcome more than a hundred thousand children regularly, in
Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The children who attend the
Schools face many and diverse problems: illiteracy, academic failure and
truancy, gangs, cultural vacuums, discrimination, poverty, war,
malnutrition, sexual and economic exploitation, lack of care, family
problems, and even abandonment. It is not only the lives of children who
live in the poorest parts of the world which are difficult. Often children
who live in the wealthiest parts of the world may experience a deep struggle
in finding their way in society. This is where the work of our Schools of
Peace come in; we want to solidly and faithfully support the growth of these
children. The Schools help families in their efforts to raise their
children and propose an educational model open to people of all kinds,
promoting solidarity with the less fortunate and enabling children to
overcome social barriers and discrimination.
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In Boston, the School of Peace was started in November of 2002. It is a
free of charge after-school program that runs year-round. The 'School' is
run on Saturday mornings at the Our Lady of Lourdes School in Jamaica Plain. During the summer time, we frequently take
the children on field trips. The children who attend are mainly
Hispanic, and range from kindergarten to fourth grade. The challenges of
immigrant families can be many, and the environment the children grow up in
can often be blind to their needs. The people of the Community who run the
School of Peace work with the children's parents and teachers to give the
children the academic and personal support they need. The belief and
commitment of the Community to peace is also reflected in the educational
activities we organize with the children, encouraging in them a more
socially conscious and globally aware thinking, and a greater awareness of
peace. |  |  |
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