feature by Jenny White – South Wales Evening Post – July 8, 2003
A section of this feature is repeated here. The photographs of the school children are copyright Phil Davies and used with kind permission of the editor of the South Wales Evening Post.
Several local schools are helping to spread the Peace Mala message by buying teachers’ packs and bracelet kits to use with their pupils.
Among them are Hafod primary and Terrace Road primary in Swansea.
Hafod head, David Jenkins, said: “Pam Evans called me when she was putting the kits together and asked whether they could be used in a primary school.”
As soon as the kits were ready Mr Jenkins ordered some to use with his year six pupils.
“The project fits nicely with the emphasis we have here on understanding other cultures,” he added.
Lesley Evans, head of Terrace Road primary, is planning to use the Peace Malas as a meaningful leaving gift for the school’s older pupils.
“We think the Peace Mala idea is wonderful,” she says. “We’re a multicultural school, so in a way it’s easier for us to celebrate the richness and diversity of different cultures. The Peace Mala will be an ideal parting gift for our year six pupils.”