Take a moment to look back on your youth. Do you remember being 12 or 14? That awkward age on the cusp of adulthood, when you were neither a child nor yet an adult, but alternately identifying with both? Imagine your deepest held values and beliefs at that age; your fledgling sense of self and vulnerability. Did you have opportunities to share what mattered to you? To listen to voices different from your own and marvel at their unique worth and beauty? Flash forward a few years to your late teens and early twenties. How do you recall that sense of self now? Stronger? More settled? Perhaps a bit less open-minded than before?
Who Cares About Living Peacefully?
A TIO Editorial
Who Cares About Living Peacefully?
by Paul Chaffee
Interfaith dialogue is sometimes characterized as wine ‘n cheese talk-fests for progressive religionists. In fact, the interfaith movement is strongest in countries where people are at risk, though their stories don’t often get told. Preparing for TIO’s launch, we discovered the painting below, the work of at-risk children in Pakistan who yearn to grow up in an interfaith-friendly, peaceful land. TIO is a site where voices like theirs will be heard.
“Multicultural Harmony” was painted by Sara, 10, Zehra, 12, and Ayla, 11, students at Funkor Childart Centre for disadvantaged students in Islamabad, Pakistan. In a troubled world, their clear yearning for friendship and goodwill among the world’s races and religions shines like a beacon for the rest of us. The mural was painted under the guidance of artist Fauzia Minallah. Learn more about Funkor’s work and ways to support it at www.funkorchildart.com.