Ann Weiss Speaks at 'Iolani
On February 21st, in a talk entitled “A Glimpse into the Holocaust,” author-educator Ann Weiss spoke to a large gathering in Seto Hall that included the entire seventh and eight grades.
Ms. Weiss, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors from Poland, is the author of The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau, published in 2001. She brought excerpts from her 1989 documentary film Eyes from the Ashes, which depicts copies of photos she acquired when touring the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp some twenty years ago. Her message of peace and tolerance was clear as she told stories of the faces in the portraits, family photos which were confiscated by the Nazi officials upon the Jews’ entry into the camp in 1943.
Teachers and students alike were clearly moved by Ms. Weiss’s presentation and we hope will be forever changed by the faces they saw in the photos. English teachers Mrs. Pattie Wagner and Ms. Leslie Evans were instrumental in making this event a reality. (This summary is adapted from an article by Ms. Evans.)
Contribution to Nothing But Nets
The Institute made a contribution to the charitable organization Nothing But Nets for the purpose of protecting children in Africa from malaria. Ninety percent of the more than one million people who die each year from malaria are African children. Incredibly, an African child dies from malaria every thirty seconds. These deaths are easily preventable with the use of mosquito nets while children sleep. IPI's donation will provide nets for ten whole families. IPI plans to make an annual donation of this size to Nothing But Nets.
Conflict Resolution Workshop
On March 28th, IPI sponsored a special workshop to introduce conflict resolution concepts to members of the Upper School club called Students for Peace and to other interested students. Jonathan Kathrein, Executive Director of a California-based non-profit organization called Future Leaders for Peace, led the lunchtime workshop entitled "Be the Change," a title inspired by Gandhi's famous advice to "be the change you want to see in the world." Kathrein, assisted by locally-based Group Leader Tasha Walker, entertained and enlightened a packed classroom. Kathrein's presence on campus is expected to be an annual event. Next year's workshop will be a full-length version of this year's condensed workshop. Please keep an eye out for more information during the 2006-2007 school year.
Dafur Petition
IPI and members of Students for Peace lent their support to students in History teacher Ms. Charlie Ritts' Contemporary Issues class as they conducted a petition drive on campus designed to call for support for House Bill 34 (in the Hawaii state legislature). The bill was entitled "Engagement and Targeted Divestment from Sudan" and it stems from serious concern about ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Ms. Ritts' students' project was very successful, collecting approximately 600 signatures. According to Ms. Ritts, "House Bill 34, recently passed in California, intends to disassociate the state of Hawaii, in a financially prudent manner, from the moral and financial concerns linked to investments in those companies doing business in Sudan that significantly support the government of Sudan."
Students See and Hear Dalai Lama on Maui
Forty-five students, joined by twenty-two teachers, parents and administrators, flew to Kahului, Maui to hear the Dalai Lama speak in person on the subject of "The Human Approach to World Peace." The political and spiritual leader of Tibet, one of the great peace advocates of our time, spoke of using our natural human quality of compassion to prevent and resolve conflict from the individual level all the way to the international level. `Iolani's group, the largest from Oahu to attend the event, was impressed with the Dalai Lama's message and found the experience of hearing and seeing him in person unforgettable.
Levani Lipton '92 Speaks on "Global Homes" and Altruism
On May 7th, Levani Lipton '92, Executive Director of the Ananda Foundation, an international development organization, delivered to two classes of seniors enrolled in the English elective Philosophical Literature a presentation entitled "Global Homes." Her visit was under the aegis of the IPI and Philosophical Literature (Ms. Lipton took the same course at `Iolani in 1991). In many countries around the world, the Ananda Foundation starts, finances through microcredit loans, or logistically supports projects that provide the world's poor basic needs such as food, clean water, medical care, and education. In her presentation,Ms. Lipton used the concept of building a home as a metaphor for building one's life, showing students photos she took of examples in poor villages in India, Kenya, and Peru. The next day, May 8th, three days before her planned departure for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she will speak on "Children and HIV" to the World Forum Foundation Conference, Ms. Lipton also gave a presentation to the entire eighth grade. She spoke about two Ethiopian children whom the `Iolani eighth grade will continue to sponsor (the sponsorship began in 2005).
6 Billion Paths to Peace
On May 29th, IPI Committee member Mr. John Bickel, a history teacher in `Iolani's Upper School, represented IPI at the launch of the Shinnyo-en Foundation's peace effort called "6 Billion Paths to Peace." He attended in response to an invitation to IPI from Shinnyo-en. According to Mr. Bickel, there was a "panel discussion with Kupuna Paulie Jennings of the World Invitational Hula Festival; Dr. Joseph Bobrow, who helps to counsel veterans in San Francisco; and McClellan Hall, who works with Cherokee youth." Panel members responded to questions on the roles in peace of spirituality, which comes to us through education, understanding, communication, and tolerance; meditation; and unconditional love. They described their own daily rituals to keep peace, such as watching the sunrise, learning about new things, thinking of the less fortunate, and practicing stretching and breathing exercises. They suggested keeping an open mind, listening, and finding divine guidance. Shinnyo-en is well known in Hawaii as the organized of the annual Lantern Floating Ceremony, an event that promotes peace.
(More extensive articles on some of the events or activities above can be found at www.iolani.org/peace_031005_cc.htm.)
