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The Sanctuary Alliance is a project developing at several locations
around the world. A description of the project was recently sent
to the United Nations in response to their current global study on
violence against children.
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The
Sanctuary Alliance
January, 2005
Every child deserves and needs someone in his or her life to love and to
love them in return.
O. Fred Donaldson, Ph.D.
Daniel Caron
Introduction
Children: From Victims To Peacemakers
"If
we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a
real war against war, we shall have to begin with children; and if they
grow up in their natural innocence, we won't have to struggle; we
won't have to pass fruitless, idle resolutions, but we shall go from
love to love and peace to peace until at last all the corners of the
world are covered with that peace and love for which consciously or
unconsciously the whole world is hungering." Gandhi
The Problem
Children are robbed of childhood. Throughout the world in large
cities, small towns, and rural areas "null and void" is stamped
across the face of childhood as children are deprived of the safety and
nurturance they need to thrive. As Nobel Peace Prize Laureates point
out, "Many children--too many children--live in a culture of
violence." Consequently fear energizes them. Hypervigilence,
separation, isolation, attack and revenge become children's strategies
for everyday living. Save The Children, for example, estimated that 100
million children died during the decade 1990-2000 because of adult
inflicted living conditions.
Self defense, social isolation, aggression, and victimization are health
risks for all children, not just coping strategies for those directly
impacted by violence. A child who feels victimized, unwanted or
isolated experiences a kind of poverty that is deeper and more
painful than the loss of food. Being a child is hard enough
without fearing for your life. As Mother Teresa points out, "unless kind hands are given in service and generous hearts are given
in love, I do not think there can ever be a cure for the terrible
sickness of feeling unloved."
Mother Teresa's outcry precisely expresses a kind of wisdom. But
the wisdom she conveys cannot be proved or explained, taught or learned.
One either does or does not know what it means. Trying to explain
this feeling to someone who does not have this sensitivity is
frustrating at best. Our devices of human explanation mask
countless individual experiences of hurt, humiliation, and death,
moments of dread at not knowing how to be safe, who one can trust, and
sorrow and emptiness at the loss of the cherished and familiar.
A Solution
Safeguarding the future for children means not only to assert their
rights, but to invest in and protect them now. The Sanctuary
Alliance is a partnership of people committed to prevent and eliminate
violence against children and take the steps necessary to ensure that
the benefits of childhood are available to all children, not just a
privileged few. Our commitment to caring is best reflected not in
studies, reports, and commissions, but only in the well-being of
children. The Sanctuary Alliance is created on the premise that we not
only want to make a difference, but that we can. We believe
that childhood is an untapped natural resource of great promise and all
children are a valuable part of humanity's common heritage. This
Alliance begins a new era in child welfare by creating a unique and
universal relationship based on love, safety and belonging. The
Sanctuary relationship is consistent with the 1976 United Nations
Convention on the rights of the child, the 1994 International
Conference on Population and Development's (ICPD) vision for human
development, and the appeal to humanity made by Nobel Peace Prize
Laureates.
The Sanctuary Alliance believes that positive connections between people
reduce fear and violence while creating peace. The Sanctuary
Alliance is rooted in a universal vision and a practical plan that
promotes action at levels from family to international relations. This
vision and practice restructures the social contract between children
and adults into a sanctuary relationship. The Sanctuary relationship
develops people who learn to think beyond conflict and actively move
collaboratively beyond aggression and revenge to peace.
The Sanctuary relationship demonstrates that many of our assumptions
about children, conflict, and peace are wrong. What, you might
ask, do children and peace have in common? The answer is
simple--their original play. Play, in this context, is a relationship
with the world, marked by love, safety, and belonging, that is the
foundation upon which childhood exists. The original play relationship
activates an internal & universal sensory-motor reflex system that
is a response to life characterized by 3 traits: loving beyond fear,
trusting beyond knowing, and belonging to all life.
The Sanctuary relationship breaks new ground in many ways.
This Alliance is the first of its kind to emphasize and utilize
childhood as a natural resource; it also demonstrates that children have
something valuable to offer the world. This "something" is the
sanctuary relationship inherent in children's original play. The
Sanctuary relationship is a universal trust fund, an
infrastructure of love, safety, and belonging that transcends social,
cultural, and even species boundaries, thereby serving as a foundation
for interpersonal communication, cross-cultural belonging, and
inter-species trust. In addition, this original play relationship
is simple, sustainable, and addresses the underlying causes of
aggressive behavior at a level at which these behaviors can be changed.
Also, the sanctuary alliance is a global vision that evolves practical
strategies that can be implemented at the local level to demonstrate the
importance and feasibility of safeguarding children. Finally, it
makes conflict obsolete.
Vision: Our vision is to sustain childhood by creating a
global network of sanctuaries in which children thrive not merely
survive. As used here, "sanctuary" refers to a person
not a place. We believe that the most effective safe haven for a
child is another human being who we call a "sanctuaryist."
The people who are part of the Sanctuary Alliance are united in their
commitment to a common vision and practice to safeguard the world's
children. The way in which children are treated can no longer be
regarded as just an internal family matter. We believe that the
protection of children is not only the responsibility of parents but the
duty of the international community as well.
Core Values: The sanctuaryist is dedicated and committed to
enhance and extend life based on the following four core values.
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To develop optimally every child needs a sanctuary
relationship.
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No child should spend his or her energy in self-defense.
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Children's original play is peacemaking.
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The sanctuary relationship is based on three qualities: loving beyond
fear, trusting beyond knowing, and belonging to all life.
Mission: Our threefold mission is clear and ambitious: to
protect children, revive and preserve childhood, and make conflict
obsolete. We accomplish our mission by introducing, developing,
and implementing a unique and innovative primary care relationship
called "sanctuary." This is a strategic relationship that functions
as a universal life support system, which mobilizes individuals and
communities to better serve, protect, and empower their children.
The Project begins with sanctuarys chosen from an initial group of eight
sites around the world: in the United States these are: Fairfield,
Connecticut; Seattle, Washington; Ojai, California, and Kona, Hawaii
There are three in Europe: Warsaw, Poland; Graz, Austria; Stockholm,
Sweden, and one in Africa: Cape Town, Republic of South Africa.
Sanctuary sites will be chosen from this group of eight sites in which to
initiate a year long pilot project. During this year from one to three
sanctuaryists will be identified and trained in each of the eight
sanctuary sites. In time the plan is to expand and include other sites
around the world.
Sanctuaryist Training
The sanctuaryist role is based on a framework for relationship that is
founded in the vision and practice of original play. Children play a
primary role in the sanctuary process. Children are both the chief
models and mentors for the relationship. Original play is an
action-state of belonging to all life. This action-state is a gift
of Creation and thus inherent in all life. The masters of this way
of being and doing are children before they are adulterated by culture.
But children cannot create the Sanctuary relationship by themselves.
Adults are necessary too. Both parties must share in a process of
giving and receiving. The adult sanctuaryist role is to provide the
safe environments within which children can realize their potential;
while they receive from the children the skills inherent in original
play. We achieve this relationship by training adults to be
sanctuaryists and developing sanctuaries for children. In
time we hope this process of sharing will make a sanctuaryist into a
recognized role cherished by children and respected by adults.
While the training is specifically designed for those who are interested
in working directly with children, our experience is that the skills
derived from the sanctuary experience equip people with the emotional
presence and physical abilities to respond to the needs not only of
children but to adults as well. The sanctuaryist is an innovator
who faces challenging circumstances with grace.
Objectives:
The Sanctuary Training Project has three objectives:
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To train adult mentors to serve as sanctuaryists for children
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To include children as models and catalysts for training adults in
the skills of original play
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To motivate and mobilize community support for safe childhoods.
Sanctuary training is a nurturing mentor relationship based on the
process of original play. This mentoring relationship changes
lives in a positive way as it gently guides and nurtures a two-way
exchange that provides opportunities for both adult and child to
experience giving and receiving without fear, self-defense, or
limitation.
All relationships can be enriched by the Sanctuary process: parent and
child, teacher and student, therapist and client, administrator and
staff, employer and employee, coach and athlete, police and public, pet
and human, and so on. The following groups of people can
benefit from Sanctuary training.
-all children
-adults who have direct contact with children, such as parents and
teachers
-adults who plan, supervise, and manage programs that serve at-risk
and special needs children
-social service professionals such as law enforcement, welfare, health
care, and social work
-students in the above fields
-adults who work in high stress environments
-people who work with animals
-people who endeavor to improve their creative and/or physical
abilities
-people working in international relations and environmental fields
The Sanctuary Training process has 5 modules;
-3 day introductory workshop
-3 day intensive workshop
-3 day mentoring seminar
-5 day mentoring seminar
-individual apprenticeships
These modules are progressively more experiential in nature and are
designed to enhance one's emotional and physical ability to respond
safely and effectively in the increasingly complex, contradictory, and
competitive world we live in. Because the masters of the original
play process are children, participants spend increasing amounts of time
in play with children as they progress from workshop to mentor to apprenticeship.
Also, in this progression the experiences are increasingly tailored to
meet individual needs. The training process is designed so that
participants choose at what point they wish to stop the training
process. While the first four modules can be completed in a short
time, fourteen days, participants who choose to go on into
apprenticeships will recognize that to be a sanctuaryist is a demanding
process that requires a long term commitment.
It is expected that before a person undertakes an apprenticeship
position he or she will be able to:
-describe the role and responsibilities of a sanctuaryist
-describe the emotional and physical traits of an effective
sanctuaryist
-demonstrate safe and effective touch skills with a variety of
children
-describe the process of original play
-demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively about original play
with adults
-demonstrate an ability to assess, manage, and implement an original
play process in a variety of environments
-discriminate between good and bad touch
-think and act beyond aggression and revenge
As a universal trust fund the sanctuary relationship transcends the
fears generated between groups, countries and species, enabling us to
feel a sense of mutual belonging without resorting to self-defense,
blame, fault, attack, or revenge. Learning to sustain
this relationship takes time and commitment.
Characteristics of an effective sanctuaryist include:
-a mindful commitment to his or her ongoing practice of kindness
-an ability to enable others to realize and develop their full potential
without resorting to tactics of fear and self-defense
-having the integrity, patience, maturity, responsibility, and empathy
to play with life as it unfolds
-creating safe learning environments
-empowering all people to feel safe and to let go of fear as a way of
responding to the world
-being able to handle surprise with equanimity, flexibility, balance,
and inner stillness;
-engaging life with enthusiasm and grace
-a strong sense of leadership and service based on humility and humor,
confidence and compassion, wisdom and joy, patience and perseverance
-being able to model giving love at the point of attack
-loving beyond fear
-trusting beyond knowledge
-creating a sense of belonging
-using safe touch in difficult situation
The Sanctuary Training Project Strategic Plan
The Sanctuary Project is a prevention, intervention, and recovery
strategy that focuses on three key areas: making children safe,
preserving childhood, and reducing conflict. In each area a
coordinator will serve as a focal point for arranging workshops,
disseminating information, and developing mentoring sites in their
region. Each project site consists of a home base, a number of
workshop sites in the surrounding region, and from one to four mentoring
sites. In time apprenticeship sites will be added.
The challenges raised by the complex problems facing children require a
new commitment to work together if we are to realize the benefits of
fully realized childhoods. Sustainable childhood can best be
advanced when the efforts of those directly involved with children are
fully integrated within their own communities. In this regard
partnerships among adults will be encouraged and developed to enhance
childhood in local communities. Adults working directly with
children will be encouraged to develop and implement strategies for
sustaining childhood and keeping children safe within their communities.
While specifics will be adapted to fit the needs of the local community,
the basic plan of action set forth here will be the same in each of the
sites. In each of the selected pilot project areas there will be a home
base surrounded by one to four mentoring sites. This network will
be surrounded by a number of workshop sites spaced throughout the
region.
Home base is simply the home/office of the area coordinator.
The duties of the coordinator include: arranging workshops, selecting
mentoring sites, helping apprentices find sites, maintaining lists of
workshop participants, handling publicity, establishing mentoring
schedules and giving lectures in the area.
Workshop sites are places in the region where workshops will be
given.
Mentoring sites are schools or other child care institutions at
which training can take place. Each mentoring site must be a safe
place for children and adults to play and the site administration must
be willing to have play occur at their site. There is a reciprocal
mentoring relationship between the children at each site and the adults
who train as mentors. The children provide the adult trainees with
play experience and the adults provide models of safety.
Apprenticeship sites are places allowing adults who have reached
the apprenticeship stage to play with children at their site.
Developing And Implementing A Sanctuary Project
Step 1: Develop A Site Specific Strategic Plan
Objectives
-establish site goals and objectives,
-develop a strategy for implementing the project at the site,
-develop ways to incorporate contributions from children and young
people
-create job description for area coordinators, including title,
salary, and percent of time involved, benefits
-identify potential consultants
-identify specific services and outcomes we expect to provide
-provide an income and budget estimate,
-develop a standard monitoring and evaluation plan
Step 2: Conduct A Site Analysis
Objectives
-recruit area coordinator,
-assess the region for possible workshop and mentoring sites
-identify important community people and how they are to be involved
-identify sources of necessary resources and materials, such as mats
-Identify and assess target groups of children-including number
of children served, how they are to be involved, level of service
provided, risk & protective factors currently present
-identify target groups of workshop participants.
Step 3: Project Implementation
-establish connection with play sites
-initiate play with targeted children,
-arrange community, parent and staff orientation meetings
-decide on and promote dates for workshops in area
-monitor progress and change as needed
Step 4: Project Evaluation
-evaluate project
-meet with people involved to provide suggestions for project
continuation and future direction.
-decide on new sites
General Project Timeline
Activity Projected Timeline
Phase 1 Spring 2005
Phase 2 Fall 2005
Phase 3 Spring 2006
Phase 4 Summer 2007
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