"PEBBLES FOR PEACE”
Melissa Mikel
Tucked away in small town Ontario, Canada is a project that is striving to make a BIG difference. The students at Goodwin Learning Centre, a small, private elementary school, are collecting 6 million pebbles to commemorate the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
This special project began in 2007 with the added goal of collecting pebbles from many different towns, cities and countries from around the world. The response has been overwhelming. Many of the pebbles that have been sent to the school have been accompanied by heartfelt letters that explain the significance of the pebble donation. Oftentimes the pebbles are sent in memory of specific people who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
Two of the very early pebbles that were received were sent by an anonymous person who shared the story of David and Jackie – “Both young Jews, early 20s, and they were hiding in my apartment with the great help of my landlady.” David and Jackie were found by the Gestapo, arrested and sent first to Kazerne Dossin in Belgium and then “east” to an unknown location. David and Jackie did not survive. Also included in the letter was a Star of David that Jewish victims were forced to wear.
Some pebbles that have been sent have been accompanied by letters that share the pebbles’ personal significance to the individual. Three pebbles were received in one envelope from a small town in Ontario, Canada: a white stone, a dark stone and an oval stone.
The white stone, according to the donor, “…is rare, apparently it says somewhere in the Old Testament that one who finds a white stone finds a wink from God. So here is your wink!” The dark stone appeared to have a face etched on it: “Could this be the face of a Holocaust victim watching over your project in their memory?”
The oval stone felt good in the donor’s hand, like you were holding someone’s hand, and she stated in her letter: “By your project, you have given the citizens of the world another chance to hold hands and walk together.”
All pictures in the article: Melissa Mikel