Bridges of Peace and Hope Quilt
Shown below are panels from BOPH “These Are Our
Hopes” Quilt. Students and Artists from more than
forty countries have contributed writing and art to this
project.
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quilt includes squares from Barcelona, Spain;
Kiev, Ukraine; Brussels, Belgium; Aldbury,
UK; Newtown and Danbury, Connecticut, USA; Hudson
and Edmeston, NY USA; Hamburg, South Africa;
and Aligarh, India |
Center Panel |
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Bridges of Peace and Hope Heroes
Award
The second annual BOPH Heroes Award was presented to
Colonel Mark Cook on December 13 at the Annual Holiday
Fundraising Concert in Danbury, Connecticut. The concert
supports the work of Dr. Ann Hines and the Hanahoe
Memorial Clinic. Dr. Hines was the recipient of the first
BOPH Heroes Award. Colonel Cook accepted the Heroes award
from his home in Great Britain via a live web
videoconference. Mark Cook and his wife Caroline are the
founders of Hope and Homes for Children, an amazing
charity that provides homes and family support to orphans
of war and HIV Aids. To learn about Mark and their work
go to www.hopeandhomes.org
Bridges of Peace and Hope World Music Concerts
In November 2008 Bridges of Peace and Hope members
promoted and presented public concerts and school
programs to benefit Thula Sizwe (www.thulasizwe.com) and community organizations they
support in South Africa. Thula Sizwe is an all male Zulu
singing group that tours the US to promote Zulu culture
and to support themselves and their communities. Thula
Sizwe and John Farrell have collaborated on performances
and recordings since October 2006. This years events in
Hudson, NY and Danbury, CT raised over $5,000. The
concerts included performances by John Farrell and area
school children, Thula Sizwe, and Kofi Donkor and
Sankofa. Kofi, a member of the BOPH Advisory Board, is a
master drummer and sculptor and director of Sankofa, a
drum and dance ensemble. To learn about Kofi and Sankofa
go to www.bak2roots.com.
Thanks to all who helped with the Thula Sizwe events,
especially Ann Marie Farrell, Meg McLoone, Carol Gans,
Casey and Mary Kuhn, Caroline Stewart, Ray Flanigan,
William and Sue Field, Tom and Gael Lynch, Ken Buescher,
Kofi Donkor and Sankofa, the First Congregational Church
of Danbury, CT, the First Presbyterian Church of Hudson,
NY and the United Church of Christ, West Stockbridge,
Mass. Below are photos from the concerts.
John with Thula Sizwe; Anne Marie helping with
Sign Language
December 2008
Ghanaian Master Drummer Kofi Donkor and Sankofa,
a drum and dance ensemble - December 2008
Thula Sizwe - December 2008
Kofi Donkor - December 2008
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John Farrell to present BOPH in
Bucharest, Romania
before visiting Kiev and Budapest
March 19 and 20, 2009 John Farrell will be in Bucharest,
Romania to present the Bridges of Peace and Hope Project
to teachers and administrators at the Central and Eastern
European Schools Association (CEESA) conference.
Following the conference John will be visiting Pechersk
School International in Kiev, Ukraine, and the American
International School of Budapest in Hungary. These two
schools are actively involved in ongoing BOPH projects.
What We Do
Bridges of Peace and Hope uses school projects, community
events, the internet, and other technologies to enable
students, teachers and artists to collaborate on creative
educational projects that promote respect and
understanding, and have a positive impact in our local
communities and around the world. Here are some of the
things we do…
We Sing to advance peace, love, understanding and
respect.
We Create drawings, paintings, web pages, quilts, dances
and more…
We Write songs, poetry, letters, stories, plays, articles
and more…
We Help Others through goodwill projects, fundraising,
community service and more…
We Learn about new places, diverse people, peace heroes
and more…
We Collaborate on Global Art projects, school to school
partnerships, working with local organizations, and
within our classes and schools.
We Imagine… a world at peace, health care for
everyone, safe homes for all, a healthier environment and
more…
We Communicate… talking, writing, creating artwork,
email, videoconferencing, and more…
Who We Are
We are students, teachers, artists and friends who
believe the vast majority of people everywhere wish to
live in peace, learn about the world, and help others in
need. There are no dues or fees. We welcome everyone who
wishes to help others and work for peace and social
justice.
Board
of Directors
Carol Gans John L Edwards School Hudson, NY
USA
Thomas Lynch Retired Business Executive Newtown, CT
USA
John Farrell Songwriter, Performer Hillsdale NY
Founder of BOPH USA
www.johnfarrell.net
Advisory
Board
Ken Buescher 2009 Teacher of the Year Stadley Rough Elem
School
Danbury, CT USA
Kofi Maxwell Donkor Master Drummer From Ghana / Lives in
Sculptor Greenville, NY USA
Teaching Artist
Kathleen Farrell Peace Corps Serving in Cameroon, Africa
Volunteer From Hillsdale, NY USA
Raymond Flanigan Photographer Bethel Photoworks
Musician Bethel, CT USA
Joseph Giulietti Teacher, Artist American International
School, Budapest, Hungary
Pascal Guirma Financial Advisor From Burkina Faso
Lives in New Paltz, NY USA
David John Hartnick Teacher DeRust Futura Primary School
Grabouw, South Africa
Colleen Farrell Student, Musician SUNY Geneseo
Geneseo, NY
USA
Gael Lynch Teacher, Author Reed Intermediate School
Newtown, CT USA
Michael Palmer Teacher, Musician Pechersk School
International
Kiev, Ukraine
Cheryl Terry Teacher International School of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
Kent Brown Jr. Former Publisher Boyd’s Mills Press
Chairman Highlights Foundation
Honesdale, PA USA
Meg McLoone Parent Academy of International Studies
Magnet School, Danbury CT
Richard Copley Web Designer
Copleys Web Graphics, Milford, NY USA
Colonel Mark Cook Founder Hope and Homes for Children
Wiltshire, England
www.hopeandhomes.org
Schools Currently Participating in
the BOPH Project
Academy of International Studies School
Danbury, Connecticut
USA
Aldbury Primary School
Tring, Hertfordshire
Great Britain
American School of Barcelona
Barcelona
Spain
American International School of Budapest
Budapest
Hungary
DeRust Futura Primary School
Grabouw, Western Cape
South Africa
Edmeston Central School
Edmeston, New York
USA
Girls’ High School
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh, India
Hamburg Primary School
Hamburg, Western Cape
South Africa
International School of Brussels
Brussels
Belgium
John L Edwards Elem School
Hudson, New York
USA
Pechersk School International
Kiev
Ukraine
Reed Intermediate School
Newtown, Connecticut
USA
St. Paul’s College
Windhoek
Namibia / Africa
Stadley Rough Elem School
Danbury, Connecticut
USA
Thomas Jefferson Elem School
Yorktown Heights, New York
USA
Uffelman Elementary School
Monterrey, Tennessee
USA
How You Can Help
If you would like to participate in one of our projects
please send an email to John Farrell at hoperivermusic@yahoo.com The newest BOPH project called,
“Hear My Story,” is a storytelling project
involving interviewing an elder in your family or
community and then creating a story and remembrance from
the interview. We’ll be posting stories, art and
collages from the interview project on the new web site.
Other ongoing projects are the “These Are Our
Hopes” writing, art and quilt project, and the
“BOPH Heroes” Project. Please send your email
address to Mary Jain if you’d like to be added to
the BOPH email mailing list. mdayger@stny.rr.com
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