A world of good: Brewer camp unites youngsters across cultures

BREWER – For the next four weeks, Brewer High School will be host to 48 not-quite-teenagers from a dozen countries, creating a convergence of cultures where boundaries, geographic or otherwise, disappear.

Four-person delegations of 11-year-olds from 12 countries are in Maine as part of the Children’s International Summer Village, a peace-oriented program started in 1951 by Old Town resident Doris Twitchell Allen. Its mission is to promote peace through cross-cultural understanding.

“I can honestly say that outside of raising my own children, this is the most rewarding thing I’ve done,” said Valerie Maurais, an Old Town resident and one of four staff members at the program in Brewer. “These kids are like sponges. They haven’t built up any stereotypes or preconceived notions of other cultures.”

Sophia Szente, a member of the delegation from Italy, said the village is all about having fun and making new friends.

“We’re not any different,” she said.

Children’s International Summer Village, based in England, has expanded steadily over the years and now includes more than 80 countries. Every summer, several villages are held around the world at various sites. Since the organization’s founder has roots in Maine, the state has been on the rotating list of village sites from the beginning.

Garry Banning, director of the program in Brewer, said the city and the school department have bent over backward to accommodate the international group.

“They’re letting us use the school free of charge. We’ve had mattresses and bedding donated. It really takes a lot to put this together,” he said Tuesday outside the school, where each delegation donned national costumes and gathered for group pictures. The Brazilians wore yellow soccer jerseys. The Italians wore aprons and chef hats.

The inside of Brewer High School – one wing, at least – has been transformed into a temporary dormitory. Twelve boys each in two rooms, 12 girls in two more rooms down the hall. The staff sleeps in the office.

Each day of the four-week program is filled with education-based activities and playtime, all centered on celebrating diversity and dispelling any perceived differences. Two excursions are planned as well, Banning said.

“We start out with introductions and just getting the children familiar with one another. Then we progress to more in-depth interaction and trust,” he explained. “It’s always amazing how the children find a way to communicate even when they don’t always speak the same language.”

Many of the children are fluent in English, but not all.

Adelaida Gutierrez from Colombia said she hopes to learn a little more English in the next four weeks.

“Everybody is so nice,” she said. “I never get the chance to know people from other countries.”

Banning said the four-week program allows the children to grow in immeasurable ways. When they leave, the hope is that they bring what they have learned about peace and tolerance and understanding back to their native countries.

“I know it sometimes doesn’t seem possible now, but we’re trying to prevent wars,” he said.

The countries represented at the Children’s International Summer Village in Brewer are Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Italy, Jordan, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden and the United States. For information, visit www.cisv.org.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

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