Peace Train Charitable Trust

As people -  as global citizens, as parents, brothers, sisters and children – Joseph Kony deserves our attention.  Please take the time to view the following and join this effort.

2012 is right around the corner – the holidays of this time of year are speeding along it seems. A quick update: The funds from IMAGINE PeaceFest have been distributed to two of the 3 organisations (RAWA and OLPC); and I am still working on the transfer to Cambodia for the READA group. I’ll post an update when all is completed! Feels great to close the loop and to get the help to those who need it – thank you ALL for your support!

If you are thinking about other worthy causes, here is work that one of our Peace Train members Erica d’Aquila is doing in Suriname in her capacity as Peace Corps volunteer. I’ll paste in her message below, and have added a couple of photos she has sent. It would be terrific to help her and her village reach their funding goal for such an essential and basic need.  If you’d like to hear an interview with Erica and see more photos, click here.

From Erica:

Give the gift of clean drinking water

As many of you already know, I am still trying to raise the funds to resolve the lack of clean drinking water in the village, Pempe, where I am currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Suriname. Together, we have already raised 4,000 USD; however, the project still needs an additional 6,000 USD before it can be implemented.

The funds from this project will purchase 43 rain water catchment systems. These catchment systems will provide clean drinking water to the 140 men, women, and children living in Pempe year round.

Currently, the only water available to the village for drinking has been tested and shows the presence of E-coli and other harmful bacteria. As a result, water borne illnesses are amongst the most common health problems in the village. Water borne illnesses are often the cause of malnutrition in children, and prevent adults from traveling to their farms to harvest food for their families.

Please take the time during this holiday season to give the gift of clean drinking water to the men, women, and children of Pempe. I ask that you also encourage your families, friends, parishes, and colleagues to join us, so that together we can make this project a success!

Donations can be made my clicking on the following link:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=568-129

This project must raise the full 10,000 USD by February 2012 or else it will not be happen, so if you can think of any way of getting the word out there, please help us out! Your donations and support will be making a huge impact in the lives of all of the adults and children living in Pempe, and it is greatly, greatly appreciate. NO donation is too big or too small!

Have a wonderful, merry, happy holiday season!

Love from Suriname,

Erica

Starting a series of interviews!  They will be featured here, and I wanted to include the latest interview with a Peace Train member and Peace Corps worker, Erica d’Aquila.  Check it out!

One week ago we began IMAGINE PeaceFest. We set ourselves a goal to raise awareness about peace-building organizations in the world, and to gather a few funds to give to them. To do that – you, the artists, performers, organizers, poets, singers, bands, attendees and donors – you all came out to join us. Thank you all!

A few updates:
http://ireport.cnn.com/topics/1307 Many thanks to that marvelous avatar-reporter Any1 Gynoid for her contribution this year.

IMAGINE Networks blog updates.  Many thanks to Ms. M. Chevalier and Mr. J. Stockholm for their steady spirits and collaboration!

Our interview with READA Cambodia’s Sandra Bérard.  Thanks to Ms. W. Whiteberry for her guidance, patience and skill!

To the gentlemen interns at Old Dominion University – Mr. T. Norton and Mr. G. Selden – thank you for getting us into the social media realm and organizing the spoken word event!

I will post more details on the summary collections and links to pictures from the events once I return from travels – travels that unfortunately took me away from the last day of the event.  I hear it was great!

More soon.

Yours in peace -

Steve

Art Auction in Second Life at the Dafthouse

The schedule has been updated with links to locations.  A big thank you to all the performers who are lined up for IMAGINE PeaceFest – those great people at ODU!  And all those great people wherever they are who are giving their time and talents to help people who could really use a hand.  Thanks also to the Nordic Virtual Worlds Network for giving us a shout!  There are many others to thank – Beverly Botsford, John Steed and the very talented Russ Corvey for their fantastic talents in the videos produced.  The list goes on.

If you want to help, please do.  The women in Afghanistan will be helped, the kids with new connections to the world will be helped, and the villagers in rural Cambodia will be helped.  Thank you.

Imagine PEACEFEST Spoken Word Event!

What: Imagine PEACEFEST Spoken Word Night
When: Sunday, November, 13, 5 – 7 PM
Where: House of Blues at the Webb Center at ODU.
Why: The Imagine PEACEFEST Spoken Word Night is a charity event featuring local artists from Norfolk. The charities we’re supporting this year are One Laptop Per Child, The Rural Economic and Agricultural Development Agency: Cambodia, and The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. While the Event is free to all those who want to come we’ll be collecting donations all night for these charities and sharing a little bit of information for you about who they are and what they do.

Featuring:

Poetikk Justice

Tonya ” Poetikk Justice” Shell was born in New England (Boston Massachusetts). Tonya has been grounded in the  Performing Arts since the age of two. This Host, Classical Harpist, Visual Artist, Poet, Television Host and Author is affectionately known as “Poetikk Justice”, founded Renaissance Woman Productions in 1999. She is a graduate of Norfolk State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. Poetikk is the holder of multiple Masters Degrees to include a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Poetikk is a known Playwright throughout the Hampton Roads area. Some of her most popular and memorable productions include “Men Who Wear Pink Socks”, “Women Who Wear Blue Genes”, ” Oilsheen: the Musical stage play“, ” Damaged Goodes” which previewed at Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University and The Attucks Theater this past summer.Poetikk Justice’s newest project of monologues “ MY Favorite D.R.E.S.S.S“:(DEDICATED women RAISING  EXCELLENCE through SACRIFICE and SHARING STORIES), features local Indie Female Artist(s), Poets and Musicians. The Male perspective “My Favorite T.I.E” (Telling HIStory through IRONY and EXPERIENCES): the Monologues will kick off 2012. Stay tuned for other Renaissance Woman Productions upcoming productions ” Her Dollhouse Blues: the Musical Stage Play”, ” Two Wrongs Don’t Make It Wright: the stage play”, ” Family MeAtings: the stage play” and a host of short indie film and documentary projects. You can follow Poetikk Justice on Facebook and poetikkjthehost on Twitter.

Cassandra isFree

Cassandra Renee Spruill, aka Cass, is an up and coming Spoken Word artist in the 7-cities area. She has been a  feature poet in a variety of events including Comments for the Cure, Last Tuesdays, Bean There Cafe, and Mic Fiend. Cassandra was most recently featured as the alumni representative for the homecoming pre-show slam for the Honors Cafe at Norfolk State University, where she received her BS in Sociology. She currently works as a Case Manager for Portsmouth Public Schools, where she has helped enforce the “Read Aloud to a Child” program in her school. Cassandra has a great love for poetry and is currently working on a cd and book of her work.

Neisha Purvis

Also we have:

Nita Hurt
Dani-DoWrite Green

Members of the Flowetic Movement.

Come out and support Imagine PEACEFEST and the great charities we’re supporting!