By: Jordan Derbas
Carlsbad, Calif – July 23, 2018
While the participants spend time learning about peace and leadership through dialogue, they also get an incredible chance to broaden that concept on a larger scale by applying the skills they learn to help those in the community. This Monday, the participants teamed up with the Hunger Van Project, a mobile food bank that prepares meals for the homeless in the San Diego community. The teenagers deepened their knowledge on hunger and the cultural differences of charity and services, as well as learning valuable lessons including service, teamwork, and problem-solving.
In just one hour, they are able to help provide 250 meals to people around the community who may not know where their next meal comes from. As organized and comfortable as possible, the participants work together in an assembly-like fashion and make sandwiches and a healthy arrangement of snacks. This project has given the participants an important skill set, by which they can influence and drive change around them.
“It is a great way to serve the local community”, said Maeve, an American Hand. “This service project has helped bring the Hands of Peace participants closer.”
Once the work is done, it is quite rewarding to see how their hard efforts had pays off. Through the entire experience, the participants have a smile on their face. This service project is a crucial part of the Hands of Peace message that these participants can take back to their homes and everyday lives. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by hunger around the world; volunteering at banks such as Hunger Van ensures that those people get a well-deserved meal.
“It was an amazing experience”, said Marwan, a Palestinian Citizen of Israel XL. “Knowing that you are making a difference and helping those who are less fortunate gives hope to the world.”
Jordan Derbas is currently an incoming freshman at the University of San Diego. He was involved with the Hands of Peace service class at his high school for 4 years. He participated in Hands of Peace in 2016 and returned as an XL in 2017. He travelled to Israel and Palestine with American participants in Spring 2018. He hopes to use his knowledge from Hands of Peace to further excel in his passion of global affairs/conflict resolution.