After years of focusing exclusively on international crises raging around the globe, in 2000 Seeds of Peace developed a domestic initiative called "The Portland Project" to address the violence erupting in its own backyard between Americans living in Portland, Maine. Since then the program has expanded to include other cities in Maine and is now called "Maine Seeds."
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 city’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 city and are chosen with the consent of the local school board 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 the violence in the city. To date, over 100 Maine youth have participated in the program.
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 Portland’s growing diversity and consequent need for understanding and acceptance.
In the words of one graduate, the “goal is to open the eyes of the Portland community. One day, hopefully many of our problems will be solved. Until then, the Maine Seeds will be here guiding the way.
Recent News
During the 2003 second session of camp, fourteen of the Portland Seeds worked on a Youth Charter for the State of Maine. On October 28, 2003, the Portland Seeds presented Governor Baldacci of Maine with the Youth Charter which he will include in his upcoming Youth Summit, a conference which will bring together students from across the state of Maine to discuss the most important issues facing Maine youth today. Maine Seeds will also participate in this Summit.
To view the Youth Chater for the State of Maine, click here (PDF file 61.6 KB).
Seeds of Peace