24 VERMONT WOMAN SEPT/OCT 2010

Roberta Nubile

When I first heard of peaceactivist Dr. Nina Meyerhofthrough a mutual friend, I

soon wondered why I hadn’t before.After meeting Meyerhof for an inter-view in between her many travels, Iunderstood. Her self-described“Johnny Appleseed” method of globalpeace efforts – moving about, plantingseeds, too busy to publicize her manyaccomplishments – has made her lessof a household name than colleagueslike Jane Goodall or Deepak Chopra.Her efforts toward the cause of peaceare no less remarkable, however.

Raised in Vermont and

Switzerland, Meyerhof is an interna-tional educator, speaker, writer, peaceactivist, and founder of the SouthBurlington-based Children of theEarth (COE). COE is a non-profitUnited Nations-recognized NGOwhose mission is to inspire youngpeople to become peace builders. Sheis also a founder of the Vermont PeaceAcademy, a non-profit organizationthat promotes the teaching, learningand practice of peacethrough education innonviolent communi-cation, diversity,c r o s s - c u l t u r eunderstanding,and leadership.

M e y e r h o f ’swork spans 40

years and is guided by one single doc-trine: that children have great poten-tial for bringing about world peace.Her appreciation for children, which“is just something that is a part of me,”she says, feeds her unwavering pas-sion for teaching peace as first andforemost an inner process of self-esteem, and realizing one’s ownunique potential to bring about

change.Passion, skills, work andplay, are all woven

together inMeyerhof’s life.

During summerbreaks from herjob as SpecialE d u c a t i o nCoordinator for aten-school dis-

trict in southernVermont, and while

pursuing advanceddegrees in educational

policy, Meyerhof started avalues-based children’s farm camp inher family’s Southern Vermont homethat ran for three decades. “The focuswas no rules,” Meyerhof says, and that“we were in life together. What werethe new standards?”

The camp, called Heart’s Bend, ranfrom 1970 to 2000 and became a well-known accredited alternative pro-gram. The children, ages 4-18, workedin the garden, cooked, cleaned, andheld family councils where issueswere discussed. The older childrencared for the younger. Meyerhofencouraged the children to select theirown activity, but once selected, “youwere obligated to follow through,” she

says. Heart’s Bend alumni and pho-tographer Richard Cole recalls hisexperience at the camp during middleschool, writing on his Web site that, “Itwas the summer between sixth andseventh grade. I was at ‘Heart’s Bend,’

a summer camp in Newfane,Vermont. Heart’s Bend was not likeother summer camps that I had beento, and I doubt that there is any otherlike it. I went to this summer camp forfour years. There is something about

photo: Margaret MichniewiczChildren of the Earth founder Nina Meyerhof (above) at her Vermont home;

(left) in Africa.

Dr. Nina Meyerhof & Children of the Earth:

Planting Seeds of Global Peace

SEPT/OCT 2010 VERMONT WOMAN 25

those four summers that has affectedmy personality in a significant way. Ican not be sure what it was exactlythat had such an effect on me, butafter Heart’s Bend I was never thesame again, nor did I wish to be.”

In 1990 Heart’s Bend hosted aninternational leadership camp thatbrought together 33 young peoplefrom 20 different countries. The groupcomposed a proclamation called TheChildren’s Declaration for Peace (seesidebar), which Meyerhof says, “Theywrote with their hearts, not their egos.Their declaration became the inspira-tion for the next 20 years of my work.”They travelled to The Children’s WorldSeminar at the U.N. in New York Cityto present the declaration. From therethey went to New Jersey for an expect-ed 10-minute private audience withthe Dalai Lama. Meyerhof says, “Itturned into one and a half hours,where the Dalai Lama blessed theChildren’s Torch of Hope, which wasthen carried to youth events through-out the world.”

This event sparked the next phaseof Meyerhof’s quest to bring her visionto the global community, and markedthe birth of Children of the Earth.COE’s presence now spans four conti-nents and 50 countries, and operatesthrough programs called Social ActionChapters and Spirit Youth Hubs,events such as World Spirit YouthCouncils, and a virtual network calledSpiritYouth, “where youth cometogether online to talk about spiritual-ity as part of a movement,” saysMeyerhof. The programs are con-sciously designed by Meyerhof toencourage youth to undergo personaland spiritual transformation, formcommunity, act locally in a myriad ofsocially conscious initiatives specificto the cultural and social needs of thatarea, and then connect globally withlike-minded youth.

First, Meyerhof finds the youthwho are receptive to what COE offers.Through her contacts in the globalcommunity, Meyerhof identifies thosewho share her vision. “I look for youngpeople that have the dream in them tohelp others,” says Meyerhof. “Weteach meditation, which helps one tofind their inner authentic self. The qui-etude leads to self-acceptance, whichleads to a vision of what one’s life isabout. We also talk about self-esteem,which is not rating self high or low incomparison to others, but finding outwho you think you are and what youhave to offer. A person who has innerawareness creates momentum in oth-ers. It’s like combustion.”

Meyerhof’s interest in self-esteemis a cornerstone of her work in peacebuilding and stems from an under-standing of the needs of young people.Meyerhof‘s doctorate focus was on

self-esteem in development. “I havealways advocated for those that didn’tfit in and wanted to empower them tobe all they could be,” she says.Meyerhof developed a self-esteemmodel to be used in schools and alsoco-authored the book ConsciousEducation: The Bridge To Freedomwith Vermont peace activist DotMaver and Montessori pioneer PhillipSnow Gang.

Through her work in self-esteem,Meyerhof developed several theoriesabout what it takes to create a peace-ful individual. “The first is that we rec-ognize all human beings as individu-als and that we are all part of the fam-ily of human kind – that disharmony isour own creation,” she explains.“Therefore, developing one’s spiritual-ity is key. First and foremost is a love ofself and finding our unique giftsthrough meditation.”

COE’s programs adapt to the cul-ture they inhabit. Ron Miller, anauthor and activist in the field of holis-tic education calls his colleague’saccomplishments across culturesimpressive. “Remote islands in thePhilippines, a village in Africa. Sheenergizes people – not just kids, butwhole communities,” he says. “She iscompletely convinced that empower-ing young people to become aware ofwhat is going on in the world andaddress it in local ways, by becomingpart of a local network, then knittingthat into a global network, is the wayto heal the world. She has a total com-

mitment to her vision.”In her own words, Meyerhof

describes her work as depending onthe where and the what. “I never go asa voyeur,” she says. “I would incorpo-rate myself into village life. We create

environments that support theprocess. We may call on an elder orspiritual leader in the community tohelp with the process but we allow theyouth to find their way. They are resist-ant to being downloaded on, so Iwould invite the question – how do I

match what I have inside to what Iwant to know?”

Dot Maver, PhD, president of theNational Peace Academy, and a friendand colleague of Meyerhof’s for over30 years, further illustrates howMeyerhof does her work wherever shehappens to be with a story aboutSeptember 11th. According to Maver,Meyerhof was in New York for theU.N.’s International Day of Peace,meeting with then-Secretary GeneralKofi Annan, Jane Goodall, and otherpeace activists. “They were about toring the peace bell at 9 am when theygot news that the first plane had hit.They evacuated the U.N. Nina, insteadof heading for safety, headed north toGround Zero and immediately

approached leaders of fire brigade andpolicemen and women saying, ‘Youhave to give us a space for the childrenwho are already impacted’,” Maverexplains. “Nina was given a corner ofthe armory closest to Ground Zeroand proceeded to create a healingcenter for the children impacted by9/11. This center was supported byMayor Giuliani, Michael Jackson,Raffi, and the Clintons. FAO Schwartzdonated toys. Children of the Earthmade all that possible. Following that,President Bush honored Nina at theWhite House with a National Servicerecognition award for her work withthe children who were impacted by9/11.”

Meyerhof is one of many womenpeace activists in Vermont andthroughout the world and describesmeeting kindred spirits: “We hear theconnectivity in our voices,” she says.“As women we express ourselves dif-ferently. We are strong but not aggres-sive when we stand in our authentici-ty. Men build dynasties, women buildcollectives.”

One of those kindred spirits isCami Davis, a professor of art at theUniversity of Vermont (UVM) andenvironmental and peace activist,who worked with Meyerhof at theEarth Charter and the Summit forPeace at UVM. “What strikes me aboutNina is her courage,” Davis says. “Herindefatigable dedication to the spiri-tual dimension of children is so clearthat it permits her to go into the inter-national arena without hesitating andinteract with world leaders. She seems

to create something of apparentlynothing, as with her organization, anddoes so with joy and sustained com-mitment.”

And her next phase? Meyerhof hasplanted many seeds of peace through-out the world and recently challengedherself to travel less, take on a leader-ship role and build infrastructure witha strong foundation to COE, now 20years old. “I want to create a spiritualhub for COE in Vermont, so the workcan sustain itself on many levels.” saysMeyerhof. To that end she has devel-oped COE’s Web site and a monthlynewsletter, and has a handbook andtemplate in the works are. “I want topull everything together and give it anew platform,” she says.

Still, there is that trip to plan in2012 to bring youth to meet withMayan elders in Guatemala. JohnnyAppleseed never actually stoppedplanting seeds either.

Roberta Nubile lives in Shelburne. !

The Children’sDeclaration for Peace

Authored cooperatively by 32 children from 21 different countries,ages 11-19 on September 1990 atNewfane,Vermont, USA.

In the name of love, unity and har-mony, we, the children of the world,declare that now is the time for peace.As creators of a better tomorrow, weenvision social and environmentalequilibrium, individual and interna-tional co-operation and the fulfill-ment of human potential as globalgoals.

As part of the earth’s living system,our harmonious co-existence withnature is essential for the sustainabili-ty of humanity.

We pledge our support to theUnited Nations. However, we alsostress the need for a more equitabledistribution of power to all countriesto encourage the evolution of peace.We desire self-determination for allpeople and hope that the emergingleaders guide rather than govern.

We, the children, as one of theworld’s greatest untapped resources,accept the responsibility to further thelove, unity and harmony which existin peace. !

photos courtesy of Children of the Earth(above) Pakistan - COE Chapter Leader, Ashfaque Hussain, impacts 14,000 children through his work with 20 teachers in 10 districts to improve the qualityof education. During the recent floods in Pakistan, Ashfaque provided flood victims with fresh water, food, milk powder and tents for shelter.(right) Nepalese children in schoolhouse made possible via COE.(below) Map showing global reach of Children of the Earth

COE organized 2,000 young people in Thailand, which led to the development of the “Peace Revolution Program.”