Children's Culture Connection

I just read a newspaper article about an amazing organization that is fostering empathy between children of different cultures and countries in wonderful ways. It's called Children's Culture Connection. I spent the last hour on the website reading about the kids in countries from Iraq to Haiti to India, kids in Africa, Asian, South America with whom this organization is working. The pictures are wonderful--kids under the most difficult of circumstances smiling, playing, and showing that kids are kids.

Check it out at: http://www.childrenscultureconnection.com

This group has a fabulous educational program which connects real kids in the U.S. with real kids in other countries.
The article I just read in the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/family/42264187.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7EaPc:iLP8iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

told about 14-year-olds in Northfield, Minnesota becoming pen pals--and friends--with teenagers in Iraq. These kids discovered what they have in common--more than they thought--and also what each other's lives are like in ways that are different. What is it really like to live in a country that is at war?

As the director of CCC, Dina Fesler, says in the article, "These groups, on both sides, aren't jaded yet. Theyr'e willing to put themselves out there. So many Amierican kids think we're at war with Iraq because they're all Muslim terrorists, ans so many Iraqi kids are taught to hate Americans. Now we can have kids teaching other kids the truth."

The article concludes with the reflection of one teen from Northfield: "I like to think I won't be so quick to judge other people in the future. It opened my eyes that there are different ways of interacting."