Peace Gang – Sri Lanka | Welcome to La Petite Fleur Montessori House of Children

On the 8^th of April 2008 the Peace Gang of Sri Lanka was born with a membership of 24 children aged 5 to 15 and 3 adults. We are a volunteer group from La Petite Fleur Schools comprising of concerned citizens and their children with a common vision that could be a powerful catalyst for promoting peace in Sri Lanka.


Our first meeting	Planting our national tree – Naa Tree

The Peace Curriculum is followed through the year and our projects are based on the four concepts – SELF, ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY AND CULTURE

Our Beliefs

We believe in human dignity
We believe in the right to freedom
We believe that everyone has the right to live in peace
We believe in compassionate acceptance and understanding of our multi cultural society
We believe in maintaining the integrity of Sri Lankan society

Our Purpose

To explore ways and collaborate in building Peace together in the community
To focus on Peace building through education and awareness directed to children and adults
To create and organize forums that will reach not just those who are already convinced of the need to build peace in our community, but to reach a broader community
Celebrating and understanding ethnic and cultural diversity

Our Motto

“Peace Begins With Me”

Our Logo

Peace Mandala


The Peace Table	The Peace Pole	The Peace Bell	Senior Peace Gang Members

Senior Peace Gang Members

Ruweni Weerasuriya, Fazrin Ozeer, Dilanthi Manuel, Roshanara Soysa, Andrea Wille, Pushpa Wijesuriya & Anesley Fernando make up the think tank of the Peace Gang- Sri Lanka.

June 2008

Poson, which is believed to be the day Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka, is celebrated on the full moon day in June. In the spirit of giving and sharing, 28 children from Samanala Childrens’ Home were invited to La Petite Fleur Ratmalana for a ‘Poson dansala’ (alms giving). This home gives shelter to children from border villages which were affected by the ethnic conflict. The children sang ‘bakthi gee’ (devotional songs) and decorated the premises with lanterns and lamps.

August 2008

Members of the Peace Gang welcomed members of ‘Phi Theta Kappa’ from USA. They also spent some time in the Bridge2Peace Montessori in Lunugamvehera where they conducted English Language Programmes.

Members of Phi Theta Kappa being welcomed

September 2008

International Peace Day Celebrations

This event took the form of an International Fair, creating a mini ‘world’ to celebrate its cultural diversity whilst highlighting the importance of Peace. Each continent was represented by a group of children from the Peace Gang. National costumes, facts and figure and souvenirs were on display. Hand crafted items and food from different countries were on sale.

December 2008

Recognizing the importance of one’s Environment, a ‘beach clean-up’ was organized with the involvement of the children of Samanala Home. The Mt. Lavinia beach, which is popular with locals as well as tourists, located just south of Colombo was chosen for this project. The festive season

being in the air, Santa surprised everyone by making a surprise visit to the beach. The holiday wishes of the children from the Samanala Home were made real through a Wishing Christmas Tree.

The visit to the Bridge2Peace Montessori in Lunugamvehera was much looked forward to by both the Peace Gang and the community in Lunugamvehara. The welcome given by them was touching not withstanding the pouring rain, the parents of the B2P school decorated the premises beautifully and a sumptuous meal was prepared. Gifts were given to the children of the school.

February 2009

At the monthly meeting, the members contributed their impressions of their beliefs through ‘one liners’ and art.

April 2009

Ms. Samantha Wijejoon, District Commissioner – Western Province of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides association was the special guest at the meeting. She impressed upon the values of friendship and loyalty.

April being the month of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, traditional games and sweet meats were enjoyed by all. The children made greeting cards for their parents.

May 2009

Large numbers of internally displaced persons in the North and East of the country were not forgotten. The Peace Gang contributed in the reconciliation effort through the collection of food stuff and personal items which were handed over to the Air Force to be distributed amongst those affected.

The children made cards which conveyed their love and concern and these too were handed over with the rest of the items collected.

An Evening of Harmony

An open air concert was organized on the 30^th of May at La Petite Fleur Academy Dehiwela, to light a candle for Peace and show Empathy towards the internally displaced persons of the North and East of Sri Lanka. The harsh realities of war were depicted through song and dance.

July 2009

The Peace Gang from B2P Montessori Lunugamvehera were the guests of the Colombo Peace Gang. The day commenced with a sumptuous breakfast followed by a Peace Gang meeting. At the meeting each child contributed towards the Peace Collage which was taken back to Lunugamvehera. Lunch at Mc Donald’s was a dream come true for them. The antics of the chimpanzees and the seal show at the zoo thrilled the little guests.

PEACE COLLAGE

August 2009

The members of the Peace Gang participated in a day camp held at La Petite Fleur Academy, Dehiwela. The younger children did a collage of a Peace Dove, while the older group made banners conveying messages of Peace.

The afternoon was spent in a home for the aged, where members had a sing song and gifts of fruits were given to cheer the elders. They were touched by the love and concern shown by the members of the Peace Gang.

A session of meditation helped the children to understand their ‘inner being’. The finale was a campfire which was enjoyed by the parents and members.

September 2009

International Peace Day Celebrations

The Montessori world came together to celebrate International Peace Day on the 21^st of September. A specific song would be sung throughout the world during the entire day. The Peace Gang of Sri Lanka joined in this historic event by singing “Sing Peace around the World” at the time allocated to Sri Lanka.

Mrs. Sandhya Weerasinghe, a prominent human rights lawyer who was the guest speaker at this event, gave a very interesting and inspiring talk on human rights.

October 2009

A visit by “Realizing the Dream” Team from USA

December 2009

The year end programme was held at La Petite Fleur Academy, Dehiwela. ‘Our Story’ – which is a compilation of the projects carried out by the Peace Gang was presented to a distinguished audience. Sarvodhaya, a well known NGO in Sri Lanka who share the ideals of the Peace Gang made a very inspiring presentation.

The children were awarded with badges and certificates in the categories of attendance, participation in projects, peace journals and hand work done throughout the year.

The children from the Samanala Home were special guests at this event. They entertained the audience with songs. They were treated to some mouth watering goodies which they thoroughly enjoyed. The evening ended with Santa visiting all the children with a bag full of gifts.

January 2010

The senior Peace Gang members together with faculty of La Petite Fleur Schools visited Jaffna. The objective of this trip was to assess the manner in which the Peace Gang could participate in the rebuilding process. This exposure to realities of the war torn areas gave a deeper understanding and insight to the necessities of these communities.

At Point Pedro Visit to a Montessori in Jaffna

February 2010

Martin Luther King III visited the Peace Gang, which was a milestone in the history of its existence. His speech on “Realizing the Dream” was inspirational. The interaction with such an eminent figure and proponent of Peace was truly memorable.

The parents of Peace Gang members and prospective members had an interactive session. As tradition, they participated in the ‘breaking of bread’.

March 2010

The new members were welcomed with a Tea Party.25 new members joined the exciting and fulfilling world of the Peace Gang.

The theme for the year being Provinces of Sri Lanka, the children got an insight into the Northern Province through a presentation. Hair ornaments, souvenirs, and food of the province were made by the children.

Jumble Sale

To fund the various projects of the Peace Gang, a Jumble Sale was organized at la Petite Fleur Montessori, Ratmalana.

April 2010

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year was celebrated with the children participating in traditional games and enjoying the sweet meats.

May 2010

The ‘Green Army’, which is an environment friendly organization gave an inspiring presentation on recycling materials to preserve the environment. The perils of global warming was also discussed.

The Alpha Project

The Peace Gang and faculty of La Petite Fleur Schools initiated and facilitated a rehabilitation programme for the child combatants who were resident at Hindu College, Ratmalana. Commencing in October 2009, it continued until May 2010, when they were released. The programme included Teaching English language, social etiquette, field trips, art, drama, singing and dancing.