Shalom/Salaam – Kids4Peace
The Jerusalem-based organisation Kids4Peace brings together teenagers from three different religious traditions, who, all too often, find themselves divided and even in conflict, in the Holy Land they share. So, what can they learn from a trip together to Ireland – an island with its own dark history of violence, hatred, fear and religious division?
Over the course of just a few days, the teenagers meet people deeply affected by the trauma of The Troubles, but also a generation of pupils born since the peace process, who now attend an integrated school.
They visit places of worship relating to each of their respective faiths and discover they have nothing to fear from religious difference.
There’s time for fun and team-building in a Carlingford adventure park, before their trip culminates in a visit to Áras an Uachtaráin and a meeting with President Michael D. Higgins.
In a week, which sees both the Jewish and Muslim faiths celebrate their New Year festivals, Kids4Peace offers a glimpse of a hopeful future.
*** Note: they deliberately spell their name as one word: Kids4Peace ***
More photographs are available upon request.