Ultimate Peace is continuing to do very well. The year round program has many communities that have been with us for many years, and in the past year we have added two new communities. Our Leaders in Training program remains successful, with 20 future leaders joining the program each year. And our summer camp in 2019 was very successful. We had two camps - one for less experienced players and training camp for more experienced players. Both camps achieved their goal of creating bridges of peace between campers and teaching them ultimate and spirit of the game. The five values of Ultimate Peace remain imbedded in everything that we do.
Graduates of the LIT program are now making their mark in the world outside of Ultimate Peace. Our current active project highlights one of those graduates.
This project is being deactivated so that we can move our donations to a new project.
There's lots excitement brewing for Camp 2018, as this year we will have two camps, which we have not done since moving to our current location in Ashkelon. At the beginning of July we will have a "Training Camp", which is designed for more experienced players. This will be followed by a "Summer Camp", which will be similar to past camps. Lots of work to do as we increase our camp population by about a third.
But as we get ready for this year's camps we are always mindful of external events that can influence our organization. Below are words that David Barkan, Ultimate Peace's Executive Director, sent to the organization to reflect on the current situation in the Middle East.
"Such horrible violence and tragic fatalities on the Gaza border. So hard to believe, to comprehend, that so many people are warring, fighting and dying like this in 2018. These are hard days to be peace-builders when so much seems out of our control. It’s during these terrible times that hope seems too easy to lose, because war appears so inevitable.
But human beings are inherently good, and war is not the preference of most. On all sides of this and every conflict, many people are mad. And afraid. But few are bad. Every person deserves to live a healthy, safe and secure life. It’s what every human being wants and should have. Waging peace is the answer, not war.
Today we ask questions like: "How can THEY do these horrible things?” or “What do THEY think they are accomplishing?”
How about a different question: Why? Why are WE so afraid of one another? Why is it so hard for US understand one another? Why do WE act as if other people’s lives matter less than our own?
Ultimate Peace has always been about understanding. During these times it is excruciatingly hard to do that, but what’s the alternative? Exactly what we are seeing today - anger, death, mourning, hatred, fear. It is not the world we want for each other, or for our children. Our hearts go out to all those suffering from these tragedies. We need to keep working on the things we can control and work closely, together. It’s a long road.”
As always, thanks for your continued support of Ultimate Peace.
Ultimate Peace’s summer camp gets lots of attention, but did you know that there’s a very active year-round program in the Middle East? Throughout the year, there are weekly practices in many of the UP communities throughout Israel and the West Bank. These are led by our strong group of coaches, and this year there are more and more community practices being led by graduates of our Leaders in Training program. This is the evolution of leadership that we've been building towards!
New this year is an ultimate league in Israel, being led by Ultimate Peace. In the league, teams from the communities compete against one another on a regular basis. In past years there have been Hat Tournaments which have been successful in bringing people together to have a good time and play some ultimate. But as Karym, our Middle East Director, points out – there’s nothing like healthy competition to get kids’ interest. Naturally the competition is intense, but all in keeping with UP’s five values – mutual respect, integrity, non-violence, friendship, and fun.
Our next report will feature our preparations for summer camp. New this year will be a “Training Camp” for more experienced players the week before our regular camp.
Thanks to everyone for making all these exciting things possible.
200 Middle East teens descended on Kfar Silver for Ultimate Peace camp in July. As usual, culturally mixed teams were formed on the first day of camp, and friendships developed over the week that they spent together. This is the beauty of Ultimate Peace. We use the values of the sport of Ultimate, mix in talented coaches from around the world and dedicated young leaders from the Middle East, bring in the campers, and watch the magic happen.
I had the honor of coaching an amazing group of young girls. A story about their interactions exemplifies the great things that happen when you bring diverse kids together.
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