YSP Goes to Hawaii

Photo credit FFWPU-USA

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) District 7 Pastor Rev. Kazuo Takami invited Naria Gaarder, national program coordinator for Youth and Students for Peace (YSP) and her husband Branch Gaarder, national coordinator of Ocean Tribe, to the Honolulu Family Church in Hawaii on January 26 to hold a youth Peace Seminar. 

During Sunday service, Mrs. Gaarder introduced YSP and the meaning of Hyojeong (heart of filial piety) and how it can be applied to all aspects of life. Mr. Gaarder spoke about his ministry in Ocean Tribe and the fishing and sustainable stewardship programs he aims to develop for youth. 

The Peace Seminar began directly after service, where ten participants from the youth and young adult groups learned about engaging in service through volunteering or creating their own projects. Participants proposed their own plans for addressing a specific issue within the community, and then voted on which project idea they wanted to work on together as a group. The winning idea came from Hwa-jin Kwak, who wanted to address the problem of youth hanging out on the streets. She proposed collaborating with school teachers to design a safe afterschool program for youth to spend their time. 

After the seminar, participants expressed their enjoyment in collaborating with peers, and the inspiration they received to do more as young students.