Uniting Voices, Raising Awareness

Photo by Joanne Carole

At 81, self-described 'Peacenik' Eleanor Kenyon hasn't lost her passion for world peace.

Eleanor Kenyon dreams of establishing mediation camps in Belfast, Ireland. She spreads messages of encouragement to all willing ears. Her answering machine proudly declares, "If you want peace, work for justice."

At 81, this Orlando, Florida, member's advocacy is far from over. Earlier this year, the self-described "peacenik from the '60s" formed Women's Voices for Peace in hopes of sharing cultures and ideals with other "Daughters of Abraham"--Islam, Christian and Hebrew women. The group's current 35-member roster meets to exchange information on religion and cultures. "It's educational," Kenyon says of the assembly's potential long-term effects. "If women can have this focus, it's going to impact the community and our children and help to add a peace and justice attitude toward one another." She hopes the women in her organization will spread its messages to their other associations, causing a domino effect of peaceful influence.

A government, psychology, and history teacher for 28 years, Kenyon gave a lasting gift to her middle and high school students. "I see them now, and they say, 'You taught me to think,'" she says. "I never told them this, but that's exactly what I was trying to do."

After retirement, Kenyon stuck by her credo of teaching others to think by becoming a mediator and supporting peer mediation programs in schools. (Mediation involves solving arguments through listening, understanding, cooperation, and helping the quarreling parties resolve their differences.)

She's mediated more than 1,000 cases for the Orange County courts and trained 900 peer mediators in over 30 schools and peace camps. But she's still not done making a difference in her community. During her 15 years of retirement, Kenyon has joined over 13 peace groups and even earned peace awards from Amnesty International and the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, as well as a human rights award from NEA.

Kenyon's advice for advocates consists of three steps:

1. Listen and ask questions, because that way you'll get information you wouldn't ordinarily have.

2. Be perceptive and visionary in order to use the information.

3. Act on it: speak up, write, propose, be an activist!

She believes her small efforts will help make a tangible difference in the world. "The little bit that one person does allows a lot more to be developed," she says. "It has to start with the vision of one."

-Cheryl Ross

For More

For information on peace organizations and how to volunteer nationally and worldwide, contact:

Amnesty International (212-807-8400; www.amnestyusa.org)

Coalition for Peace Action (609-924-5022; www.peacecoalition.org)

National Peace Action (301-565-4050; www.peace-action.org)