This year saw growth of Peacebuilding en las Américas (PLA) programs in Latin America in both the number of Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops given and in the number of partner groups with whom we worked.

The biggest growth was in Honduras, where in this, our first year, we partnered with three groups.

The Fall 2010 edition of PeaceWays Magazine is out and is available for download here on FriendsPeaceTeams.org.

In this edition David Zarembka, AGLI coordinator, describes AGLI participation in observations of Burundi elections and the 2010 referendum on the Kenyan Constitution which went suprisingly well, without the widespread hate speech and violence that accompanied the 2007 Kenyan election

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Nadine Hoover, coordinator of the Indonesia Initiative reflects on the Acehnese concept of "Real Work" in contrast to the day-to-day work we do together.

In "Sowing Miracles", Val Liveoak, coordinator of Peacebuilding en Las Américas recounts the transformative effect of the numerous Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops she has facilitated this year in Central and South America.

I had lunch recently with Alejo, I can say his name without worrying that he'll be moved up higher on a target list because he, and the group he works with, the Conscientious Objectors' Collective, are already sooooo out there, I doubt anything could add to their profile. (One public act a few years ago was to follow a military parade with brooms, and "sweep up the trash the Army left" while handing out antiwar pamphlets. In Bogota! Remember, there's a war on in Colombia.)

by Jared Ouma Jomo - age 10 years

            AIDS! AIDS! Who are you?
            Are you a bird?
            Are you an insect?
            Are you a big squary animal?
            What do you want from us?
            AIDS OH AIDS! Leave us alone

            AIDS! AIDS! Who are you?
            Do you have ears and hear us cry?
            Do you have a head or a heart?
            Where are you coming from?
            What colour are you?
            AIDS OH AIDS! Leave us alone. 

Double Joy is an orphanage in Nyanza Province on the shore of Lake Victoria. It was founded and is run by a retired English woman named, Mary Hinde. Her daughter, Crissie Hinde, is a Friend from Sheffield, England. The orphanage is "double" because it means that both parents must have died, many I suspect of AIDS. There are 90 orphans living there. Their latest newsletter included this poem, written by one of the orphans.