JDunn peace_0208.jpg
USA, Chicago, IL, January 19, 2010. Jacqueline Ortiz, Lisa Muniz, and Lilliana Roman move a team activity along together. In its tenth year, the mission of Play for Peace is "bring together children, youth and organizations from communities in conflict" together. The group believes that in cooperative play, laughter is the best medicine, and has proven itself worthy in places as diverse as Guatemala, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. In practice at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago's rough-and-tumble Humboldt Park area, students having a Play for Peace "meeting" made remembering people's names' working as a team, encouragement, and partnership a priority in over an hour of flat-out fun. These upbeat, multi-racial students will go on to use their open minds in mentoring younger kids in the spirit of friendship and equality. Photo for Hoy by Jay Dunn.