Ukuleles For Peace

One of the goals I have in putting this blog together, is to not only gather together the Uke-A-Holics of the World, but also to find out what other Uke players are doing to help make the world a better place by using the healing power of Ukuleles and music.

One such person is Paul Moore, and his Ukuleles for Peace Project. Here is some info about the project from the Ukuleles For Peace website:

For a long time, we have been watching and living the miserable situation between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs in the area. We asked ourselves, how can we contribute to a change of atmosphere? How can we break the distrust between the societies, and how can we, as simple citizens, create more opportunities for Jews and Arabs to meet and be involved with one another in our daily lives?

As Paul regularly performs to both Arab and Jewish kids, it gave him an idea: to combine his love for the ukulele (a small and easy to learn 4 string instrument) and his experience with children to create Ukuleles For Peace.

The goal of Ukuleles For Peace is to bring Jewish and Arab children together to play in an orchestra with ukuleles, kazoos and other fun instruments. Paul works with the students once a week in their own schools, and then brings them together for performances. The children sing in Hebrew, Arabic and English. The hope is that playing together will create further opportunities for communal activities, and that parents and members of the communities will get involved in the program.

Ukuleles For Peace has grown since its inception to involve classes at the open/democratic elementary school in Hod Hasharon and El Najach elementary school in Tira.

Up until now, Paul's work has been completely voluntary. There is an urgent need to find sponsors and to attract funding and public donations to keep the program alive and growing.

Paul's dream is to create orchestras in several communities and towns, enlarging the circle of real co-existence; enabling kids and parents to befriend one another; and with our modest abilities, helping to create a happier, better, peaceful society. There is a lot to be done in this area between the Arab and Jewish population in Israel. If the situation with the Palestinian Authority is safer, Paul would like to form a group there too. That will depend on a relaxing of travel restrictions and on parents feeling that things are safe enough for their children.

Furthermore, we want to make sure that a child who wants to play the ukulele will not be prevented from doing so because he cannot afford one. It is a relatively cheap instrument ($25), but even that is a lot for some families. Besides instruments, there is an ongoing need for strings, instructional books and videos, pitch pipes, etc.

Paul would eventually like to take Ukuleles For Peace around the world playing at events to show that real co-operation between war-torn communities is possible.

Before the Ukuleles For Peace program was introduced, there were virtually no communal or social ties between the communities of Tira and Hod Hasharon. Since the start of the program, however, contacts between the two have begun to develop on a number of levels.

At the most fundamental level is the orchestra itself. The children and some parents meet to rehearse and travel to performances together. Here, the children in particular began to form friendships, which lead to birthday party invitations, play dates and other social outings. The orchestra has held several picnics at which families have begun to interact and get to know one another.

The next level up involves the two schools. Three teachers at each school have taken the lead in bringing the two groups together. Special programs have been introduced around the Ukuleles For Peace project, such as parties in each town where the orchestra performs; events focused on learning about and celebrating one another's holidays and cultures; and a special class in Arabic, requested by the Jewish students at Hod Hasharon, and taught by the Head Master from El Najach school. These programs are involving students from both schools who are not part of the orchestra, thus widening the circle of contacts and furthering the mission of Ukuleles For Peace. Other programs, including a collaborative art project, are being planned.

In addition to participation in the Ukuleles For Peace program, the El Najach students participate in aother coexistence program through the Israeli Ministry of Education. The "Coexistence Forum" facilitates partnerships between Arab and Jewish schools. The El Najach school has invited Hod Hasharon Democratic school to be its partner in the Forum.