The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018 - 3

From The sTaFF

Thirteen Groups to Receive
Grants from 2018 Gavel Fund
by LeDayne McLeese Polaski
editor's note: In this space, we normally print a word from the BPFnA ~
Bautistas por la Paz staff or board of directors. In this issue, we decided to
share an article from executive director LeDayne McLeese Polaski about the
amazing groups around the world whose work the staff and board support.

hirteen grassroots groups will be receiving Gavel Memorial World peace fund grants from BpfnA ~ Bautistas
por la Paz for 2018 projects that serve to gather, equip and
mobilize peacemakers.
nine of the projects will begin or deepen training in
Conflict Transformation in contexts as varied as Mexican
elementary schools and a refugee camp located in ethiopia.
Workshops, including the hugely successful Training of conflict Transformation Trainers events, will take place in several
locations throughout Mexico as well as in Burundi, kenya and
South Sudan. They will target such groups as children, youth,
teachers, village leaders, church leaders and activists.
All of these events are being planned by local partners with
deep roots in the areas they are serving, including Amextra,
Jerusalem Baptist church, Shalom Baptist church, Iglesias por
la Paz ("Churches for Peace"), the Baptist Seminary of Mexico,
the Burundi pan African peace network, kingdom of peace
and development, the nuer youth council for
peace and development and the South Sudan
Association for pastors Training Initiative.
A grant to camino hermoso ("Beautiful
road") will support an arts project within detention centers in Mexico city, through which
incarcerated men and women will participate in
poetry, music, dance, painting and crafts. The aim
is to deepen people's appreciation of their own
indigenous history and practices that will support
them to reintegrate into society in peaceful and
dignified ways.
The Mayan Intercultural Seminary will like-

wise use art to promote peace through work with indigenous
children and youth in four orphanages throughout the Mexican
state of Chiapas. "MusicArte" will encourage self-knowledge
and expression, an appreciation of cultural diversity and the
use of practical tools for peacemaking with a group often
vulnerable to drug trafficking and addiction.
A project led by the ecumenical christian council of
Guatemala will empower and accompany 12 communities in
the municipality of San Juan Sacatepéquez as they organize
against a cement company that is polluting their aquifers and
destroying their livelihoods, particularly in flower production.
The final grant will go to our long-term partners Trees of
peace as they work to create a peace center in a Zambian village. This project will train villagers in Conflict Transformation
skills while at the same time creating economic self-sufficiency.
Villagers will be trained to implement organic agro-forestry
projects, to master basic computer literacy skills and to use
clean energy sources, like off grid solar and biogas, instead of
firewood and charcoal.
This project will economically empower villagers and at
the same time will protect the environment. Project Organizer
lance Muteyo explains, "It will supplement household incomes
Please see "Gavel" on page 5.

Right: One of the 2018 Gavel Memorial World
Peace Fund grant recipients will be
Trees of Peace, a longterm BPFNA ~ Bautistas
por la Paz partner. In this photo,
participants plant a tree of peace in Uganda.
Photo by Lance Muteyo.

Baptist Peacemaker

JAN-MAR 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018