Circles of Light is partnering with this nationally-based organization to offer program participants opportunities to take the pledge "I will not use my hands or words for hurting myself or others."  Participants trace their hands on purple paper and sign the pledge. Circles of Light will be presenting this project at various community events around the island.  For more information on this project visit their website www.handsproject.org. We are happy that the Global Family Education center and the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Kaua’i have recently hosted this project. For more information on the Global Family Education project, visit their website, www. GlobalFamilyEducation.com. For more information on the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Kaua'i, visit www.friends-cjc-kauai.org.

Youth from Circles of Light are participating in a pen pal project with children from Armenia through this special partnership with Women for Development, an NGO which offers peace education and conflict resolution programs in schools in Armenia.

Circles of Light hosted this special event on August 13 to honor guests from Japan, the Lakota Nation, and the president of the Armenian-based organization, Women for Development.  The event featured hula, cultural art projects and foods, and presentations of gifts to our visiting guests from the youth of Kaua'i.  Community youth and other organizations were invited to participate and included The Cradleboard Teaching Project, Lihue Court Townhomes, and Kanuikapono Learning Center.

Since 2003, Circles of Light has been a partner in this international peace project. Youth from around the world are invited to create origami cranes as they learn the story of Sadako, a young girl living in Hiroshima when the atom bomb was dropped. She developed leukemia, the "atom bomb disease." After hearing the story that anyone who created a thousand paper cranes would be granted a special wish, she began to create origami cranes. While she did not finish creating a thousand before she died, her friends and classmates continued for her until the goal was reached. Kimba Arem, an international performer who lives on Kaua’i, brought the first batch of cranes and a booklet of art and writing about peace to Hiroshima for a special concert she offered there as a prayer for world peace. For more information on the World Peace Project for Children, visit their website, www.wppj.org. For more information on Kimba’s work, visit her website, www.heartherapy.com.

In February 2001 Circles of Light initiated "The Visions Project" as a vehicle for bringing together art and writing by youth from centers in different parts of the world, all focused on the theme "Visions of a New World." Artists are invited to share their visions of how we may heal our world and create new ways of being together. Current participating centers include Circles of Light in Hawai'i, Hawai'i International School on Kaua'i, and Mustard Seed School, a school for homeless children, in Sacramento, California. Work from this project was displayed at a special event on September 11, 2002 at Kukui Grove in Lihu'e, Kaua'i. For more information on how your group or organization can participate, please contact us.

By Ansen Achuara

By Lisa Achuara

By Kashmir Morris

By Roxi Makena

Circles of Light contributed quilt panels created by children and teens to the Children's Cloth of Many Colors, a project of The Master's Group (www.themastersgroup.org).  The panels were part of a quilt created by youth around the globe representing their visions and hopes for peace in our world.  The quilt was used at a commemorative event on the Mall in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2003.  The panels sent from Circles of Light were created by project participants from the Boys and Girls Club of Waimea; Kekaha Ha'aheo Housing; Kekaha School; and neighborhood centers on Kaua'i. 

(Please see the Community Page for photos of the panels.)

Free the Children is an international youth organization based in Canada which works on a variety of issues impacting children globally. Circles of Light supported the work of this organization by sending donations from youth groups and adults on Kaua’i for the purchase of school and health kits, which were sent to children in countries around the world. If you are interested in participating in this project, you may contact us or send your contributions directly to "Free the Children" through their website, www.freethechildren.org.