The official PeaceJam Foundation has a simple but action-oriented vision: To Make Peace a Verb. Built on the belief that young people are the key to organizing actionable, measurable, change for the better, PeaceJam is inspired by the youth around the world who manifest that passion for peace as a verb in their own backyards. The organization provides a springboard for these students and young people to reach their full potential and discover how to continue on this path to long-term, positive change.
Founded 25 years ago with the goal of connecting youth with Peace Laureates, PeaceJam is the only international youth organization whose mission is to nurture, support, and grow the next generation of future Nobel Peace Laureates and changemakers. These young people are dedicated to enacting change in their own communities and those around the globe and are driven by their belief in the possibility of peace with 1.3 million youth in more than 41 countries who have taken part in the PeaceJam program within their own faction of the globe, and inspire those around them to answer the call to action that all ready exists within each of them.
One of the current Nobel Laureates is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who received the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy in peacemaking during the Tibetan conflict (and around the world). Recently, the Dalai Lama specifically sought a dialogue with young people around the world who are serving as leaders and changemakers in their own communities and who have their own connections to stories of perseverance, struggle, and service. His intent to purposefully engage with the power of young people exemplifies the core of PeaceJam at large.
Enter East Aurora sixth grade student Christian Chavez, a celebrity of sorts in the PeaceJam community in East Aurora District 131, who would end up serving as the youngest member of this small cohort of amazing students who to speak with the Dalai Lama. Preceding the 2022 film, “Never Forget Tibet: The Dalai Lama’s Untold Story”, which depicts His Holiness’s endeavor to teach from the past, is this recorded dialogue between 5 PeaceJam students from around the world, including 12 year-old Chavez.
Kate Cumbo, the executive director of the PeaceJam Foundation and the author of the curricula used by chapter organizations across the globe, reached out to Gates Elementary PeaceJam leader Susan Bruno with this opportunity. Bruno knew and worked with Christian Chavez in the program while he was still in elementary school. Bruno got in touch with Matthew Harding at Cowherd Middle School, where Chavez is a student.
Harding worked with Chavez for two weeks, coaching him every day to prepare to take part in this incredible talk where he would get to share with his peers and the Dalai Lama the incredible acts of service he has taken part in within Aurora and its surrounding area.
Harding, said, “Christian went from being nervous to confident. He practiced, edited, and reflected on his writing and his speech. I learned about perseverance, confidence, and the power of young minds and was very honored to help him formulate those ideas into a powerful presentation. That is what education is all about–formulating change and relieving the suffering of the world,” Cowherd ELA teacher and PeaceJam leader Harding said.
Christian’s calling to make change within his own community came at just eight years old, when he saw homeless individuals in his area and felt compelled to meet their need of hot, regular meals. Christian worked with his mother, East Aurora teacher Dulce Chavez, to find more opportunities to engage in the Aurora community.
“Ever since Christian was in kindergarten, he has always been kind, loving, and caring. Every year he spends his birthday money to help others or buy presents for friends and family. My husband and I have supported each one of his projects. He has taught us so much,” Dulce Chavez said.
At only 12 years old, Christian has been involved with the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry, organizing water and supply drives for Hesed House–which his father helped deliver–and hasn’t stopped his efforts of involvement with organizations that currently exist.
“Our family feels proud of him and, like Christian says, it is our duty to help people in need.”
Christian’s motto is, “people should not be suffering as much as they are right now,” and this has led him to his goal of developing a tiny house community that will offer meals, laundry services, outdoor space, and therapy.
His mother, Dulce Chavez said, “Christian has a vision for a tiny house community. He envisions a place in which people can [live] temporarily. This place [would be] a loving community in which people can feel safe, a place where they grow food together and help each other. In this place homeless people would receive mental [support] and job placement support. He [has] shared his idea with his school’s principal, teachers, and PeaceJam mentors…his next step is to contact community leaders to start making the project a reality.”
Christian’s call to action is one that is extended to all in the District 131 community and beyond; it is a call to help at least one person in their lives and contribute to a lasting impact, of which their own contribution will be a brick in a wall of change.
“A young person who has a desire to help others who are less fortunate is commendable and any adult should recognize that kindness and learn from it,” Harding said. “When you happen to be an educator and that young person is your student, you are proud–proud of their passion and desire to make the world a better place. I am inspired by [Christian’s] thinking.”
—East Aurora School District 131