A short drive from Seeds of Peace International Camp, Portland and Lewiston are now one of the largest refugee resettlement cities in the United States. As a result of a large influx of African and Asian immigrants in recent years, Portland and Lewiston have witnessed a sudden surge in racial and ethnic tension. As city officials and educators began to grapple with the problem, they turned to Seeds of Peace for assistance.
Summer Program
Maine Seeds participants reflect the diversity and complexity of the state's population; among them are immigrants from Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda, Vietnam and Cambodia, African-American and white teenagers.
Candidates are drawn from prominent middle schools in the state and are chosen with the consent of local school boards through a series of interviews and an essay contest. American facilitators conduct daily conflict resolution sessions that confront the issues of race, religion, culture and economic disparity that are fueling tensions.
Year-Round Activities The objective of Maine Seeds is to develop a vocal force of young leaders who are capable of helping to unite their communities. After Camp, with the cooperation of Maine schools, police, and youth agencies, Seeds of Peace continues programming throughout the school year to assure that summer gains are not lost.
Maine Seeds participants conduct presentations and outreach activities across Maine and other New England states, in addition to regularly attending group meetings. Over the school year, presentations are made in the nine-month span following Camp—an average of 4 to 5 presentations a month—discussing the very roots of intolerance and hatred. They also appeared on PBS and other television programs, as well as a three-hour radio program, addressing Maine's growing diversity and consequent need for understanding and acceptance.
Program Highlights
Thirteen students from the Maine Seeds 2007 program had the opportunity attend a round table discussion with Governor Baldacci. During their discourse with the Governor, this year’s Maine Seeds had the opportunity to discuss important issues facing their state, and their solutions to those problems.
Students of the Maine Seeds program decided to coordinate a state wide effort to help the homeless and less fortunate by donating can goods to their local food cupboard, spend the day working in a soup kitchen, or volunteering an evening to help a church with their spaghetti dinner.
During the 2003 second session of Camp, 14 Portland Seeds worked on a Youth Charter for the State of Maine. On October 28, 2003, the Portland Seeds presented Governor Baldacci with the Youth Charter, which he included in his Maine Youth Summit, a conference which brought together students from across the state, including Seeds, to discuss the most important issues facing Maine youth today.