What can 10 years do? Turn a frog into a counselor.

When a few of us started meeting in the fall of 2007 to bring the Peace Village program to the Gorge, we had no thought that we would still be playing peace with kids 10 years later. We hoped our own children would enjoy the experience of learning a few practices for inner peace, gain some skills in conflict resolution, and be inspired by peace heroes near and far. That first summer, my own children were ages 6, 8, and 11-- all old enough to be campers. We chose animal names for camper groups and the tradition of having our youngest campers be called the Frog Group was born.
Mateo, in the yellow shirt above, was one of our first Frogs. He was about the size of his cousin Max, above in orange, who is a 2017 Frog. That's what 10 years looks like in the life of a child. Ten years, enough time for a sweet six year old to grow into a six-foot-tall young adult. 10 years of learning, playing, practicing skills for a healthy, full life in the larger world. 10 years to become a leader and mentor for the next crew of campers. I will forever be grateful for the community of peace educators, artists, musicians, youth counselors, and other adult mentors who helped my kids become caring, thoughtful, engaged adults. Parents of 2017 Frogs, Salamanders, Squirrels, etc. my hope for you is that you find community as an integral part of Columbia Gorge Peace Village and that together you can grow the next generation of leaders and teachers.    --Peace, DeLona Campos-Davis

---