A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Peace Gardens




I found this so interesting that I copied it and posted it here. I can't imagine that I will get in trouble for copying...it's such a wonderful idea. If only more projects like this were started...maybe we could bring peace and harmony to our world. Imagine a man who was known for using his fists is really such a gentle soul. Balisha

Student gardeners throng Muhammad Ali in hometown
By BRUCE SCHREINER (AP)

Muhammad Ali hugged children and posed for photos during an appearance to promote a charitable initiative to grow vegetable gardens at schools around the world.
Students at John F. Kennedy Montessori Elementary School in Ali's hometown helped plant, nurture and harvest vegetables representing popular cuisine around the world. Some of the vegetables were served up at school on Tuesday, and others are being donated to a local food bank.The model garden consisted of different vegetable beds representing the different countries and the diverse cultures of John F. Kennedy school: squash and beans were grown in the United States/Native American garden and were used to make "3 Sisters Harvest Soup"; tomatoes, peppers and onions were grown in a Salsa Garden representing Mexico; sweet potatoes and black beans were grown in the Cuban garden bed; edamame was grown in the Asian bed and potatoes and cucumbers represented Russia.
Students made "Peace Pinwheels" with special messages of hope and planted them in the school yard, assembling into a large peace symbol.
The school's project is serving as the prototype for a series of "Muhammad Ali Center Peace Gardens," which will aim to teach children about nutrition and respect for different cultures.
About 600 children, preschoolers to fifth graders, filled the floor of the Louisville school's gym to cheer Ali, whose well-known battle with Parkinson's disease has left him mostly silent at his infrequent public appearances. He was seated for the nearly hour long event and beamed when a child came on stage to talk about the project.
His wife, Lonnie Ali, made a point about the importance of accepting other cultures when she asked children to stand and discuss their heritage. Children shyly said their families were from such places as Bosnia, Russia, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Mexico, Cuba and India.
Lonnie Ali told the children that learning about different cultures is important as the world becomes more closely connected through the Internet and other technology.
"Just because somebody is different and they come from somewhere else doesn't make them bad," she said.
Later, Muhammad Ali posed for photos under a tree on the school grounds. He hugged children, and one small boy playfully put his fist next to the chin of the former heavyweight champion.
Yum Brands Foundation, the charitable arm of fast-food company Yum Brands Inc., will provide $100,000 in grants during the next four years to fund gardens at schools around the world.

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