All you need is love for Peace- Story of Peace Jamboree

"Peace is the greatest weapon that anyone can have" - Nelson Mandela.
How true are his words! It took us just 3 days, 100 young people and 100 smiles to make Peace Jamboree to happen. Peace Jamboree is a youth initiative which targeted young people of Saptari - Eastern plains of Nepal to help them instigate positive attitude in order to cope with post-conflicting situation. 

Ever since Nepal entered into political transition, it was places like Saptari which was the major conflict-prone areas. It is because southern plains of Nepal was faced with continuous political turmoil due to dissatisfaction showed by Madhesis- a largest ethnic minority groups of Nepal – towards the majority government. Several youths were active participators in the riots. Or, even if they weren't part of the riots, these youths were witness to deadly conflicting situations. Thus, in order to cope with post-conflicting situation, project 'Peace Jamboree' organized Peace Jamboree carnival for 100 young people in Saptari. Our team conducted series of mini-Olympic which incorporated different outdoor games such as 'hop you way out' – where two teams had to race to make a complete circle and come back to the same spot they started, 'Tug of war', 'football tournaments' and so on. Sports activities were used as a medium in order to develop team building and feeling of unity and solidarity among each other. 

It only take a small step to move closer to what you want to achieve. Seeing these young people enjoying games together, developing tactics and strategies to win, teamwork and smiles was all we needed. It was more so amazing to see my team members develop their potentiality throughout the implementation phase. This initiative of bringing youths of Southern plains also seemed to somehow build self-confidence and awareness among my team members too. Throughout the project, they proved to become a strong building block for the project.  It made me realize that it takes a determined TEAM to move forward. 
I would like to thank Peace First to make me closer to my goals of seeing an inclusive Nepal. I was able to go beyond my potential and challenge myself. It was those 100 smiles and constant guidance from Peace First which made Peace Jamboree happen so effortlessly. 

Always a Peacemaker, and, 
Happy International Day of Peace 2018!