Michael Palmer and Pechersk School International in Kiev, Ukraine
Singing in the Peace Garden in Pechersk School International in Kiev, Ukraine. BoPH Board Member Michael Palmer is shown standing on the left.
Teacher Michael Palmer in Kiev has been a major force in helping the Bridges of Peace and Hope Project grow. Michael and John Farrell had a chance meeting in Nice, France in 2006 when John was there presenting a workshop at the ECIS conference. Michael attended the workshop on using music and stories to teach peace education.
After the workshop Michael told John he wanted to be part of Bridges of Peace and Hope. They started talking and John asked Michael, “Where are you originally from?” When Michael replied, “Ontario, Canada,” John told Michael that his family (the Farrell’s) owned an old farm house on Prince Edward Island, also in Canada, but several hundred miles from Ontario. Half jokingly Michael said, “Do you know Brad Fremlin?” Prince Edward Island isn’t a very big place but it is really small either. It is over 130 miles long with a year round population of over 100,000 people but when Michael said “Do you know Brad Fremlin?” he had hit the jackpot. Brad, a fellow musician, is one of John’s friends and neighbors on PEI. In fact, Brad plays piano and accordion on one of John’s CD’s and every summer they spend time visiting and playing music together on PEI. Brad lives just 2 miles from John’s family house in PEI but he grew up next poor to Michael in Ontario. Michael’s brother and Brad were best friends growing up and Brad is still close friends with the Palmer family. It is indeed a small world when we take time to stop and talk to each other.
| Michael and his 5th grade classes have participated in Bridges of Peace and Hope projects each year since 2006 and Pechersk School International has invited John to visit and work on peace projects three times. Michael is also a guitar player and singer. He and his class can be seen on the video, “What Can We Do to Make Peace?” an introduction to the BoPH Songwriting Project. Michael’s colleague Nadine, also a fifth grade teacher, is shown in the photo with the Pechersk School International fifth graders in the schools Peace Garden. |  |
Michael is originally from Ontario, Canada. He has lived and worked in rural Zimbabwe, Africa and in Instanbul, Turkey. Michael and his wife Masha reside in Kiev, Ukraine with their young son Andrew.
Shown below are two of the three squares that Pechsersk School International submitted for The Hope Quilt Project.
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"What Can We Do To Make Peace?"