From Catholic New
York, March
2005, p. 16:
Palestinian and New
York Catholic School
Kids
Connect as Pen Pals
by
Molly Gallegos
learning--Frank
Lalley points out
the countries and
territories of the
Middle East to
students at
Corpus Christi
School in
Manhattan who are
participating in the
Pen Pals for Peace
program that he runs
along with Mel
Lehman, who looks
on.
Photo by Chris
Sheridan
A few small
but significant
voices are
participating in the
Middle East peace
effort, as students
from four Manhattan
Catholic schools try
to break cultural
barriers to
communicate with
Palestinian Catholic
students in
Jerusalem and
Bethlehem.
The kids on
both sides are
connecting through
"Pen Pals for
Peace," a greeting
card exchange
program started at
Christmastime by
peace and social
justice advocates
Mel Lehman and Frank
Lalley as a way for
students to further
their understanding
about the
Palestinian culture
and current
situation.
"The Christians
over there feel
forgotten," said
Lehman, who was with
Church World
Services for many
years and remains
active in
humanitarian and
peace projects.
"They're
grateful for these
students here who
want to get to know
them," he said.
The
participating
schools, all on the
upper West Side, are
Holy Name of Jesus,
sixth grade;
Corpus Christi,
seventh grade; St.
Gregory the Great,
fourth and fifth
grades; and Blessed
Sacrament, sixth
grade, for a total
of about 150
students.
"A surprise to
us was the large
number of Catholic
schools there," said
Lalley, a
Corpus Christi
parishioner and
retired Catholic
Charities housing
official.
"There are
77,000 Catholics and
166 schools in the
Patriarchate of
Jerusalem, so there
are many students to
return the American
students' letters,"
he said. The
patriarchate
includes the
Palestinian
Territories, Israel,
Jordan, Cyprus, and
southern Lebanon.
Longtime
friends Lehman and
Lalley joined
together to create
Pen Pals for Peace
based on a similar
project Lehman had
explored four years
ago with Iraqi kids
who were isolated by
the U.N.-imposed
economic sanctions.
The two men
regard the project
as an important
effort toward
bringing people
together and finding
peace. "We have
limited
capabilities,"
Lehman said, "but we
can do something."
In Manhattan,
the project got off
the ground with the
students writing
Christmas greetings
to the Palestinian
kids, which Lehman
hand-delivered to
students at St.
Joseph girls' school
in Jerusalem and
Terra Sancta boys'
school in
Bethlehem. The
Palestinian students
created cards in
response, and the
chain continues by
mail.
On Feb. 11,
Lehman and Lalley
returned to the
Manhattan schools
with a slide show
and items that
Lehman brought back
from his trip. The
aim, they said, was
to show the American
students the impact
of their letters on
their Palestinian
peers, and to
further examine the
culture.
What the
American students
got to see was that
they are not very
different from the
Catholic students
overseas. In both
places, kids wear
uniforms, speak
English, and study
their Catholic
faith.
"It was fun
writing the letters
and wasn't as
difficult as we
thought," said Ramon
Rodriguez, a
seventh-grader at
Corpus Christi.
"They're going
through hard times
now, but they are
like us in many
ways, and we will
continue writing to
them."
Brother
Lawrence Lavallee,
f.m.s.,
principal at
Corpus Christi,
encourages this
project as part of
the students'
education. "In
learning another
culture this way, we
want the students to
realize that even
though it's a small
act, they are
performing a
service," he said.
"It's a service that
can become binding,
and creates a bond
between them in
sharing
responsibility."
The Pen Pals
for Peace program
has received $6,000
in grants from the
archdiocesan
Catholic Charities
and Catholic Relief
Services. The
grants were awarded
to the sponsoring
parishes, Holy Name
of Jesus and
Corpus Christi.
Manhattan-based
Catholic Near East
Welfare Association
has provided
contacts and
assistance in
connecting the two
countries.
