Joining with a group of peace-seeking women who brought together women from Israel and Palestine last month was a giant step out of Kendra Lee’s comfort zone. The registered massage therapist, mother of three and grandmother of six was quite content with her mostly quiet and orderly life until a BraveHeart Women’s meeting presented her with an opportunity she couldn’t resist.
“I had never been overseas before,” she says. “I’ve been to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, across Canada and the States, but never overseas.”
How did she get involved in this odyssey for peace?
“I joined BraveHeart Women, an international organization, last March, and in June there was a phone conference with about 200 BraveHeart women. The founder, Ellie Drake, spoke of her vision of a global project where she would bring women together from conflict regions and we, as western women, would go to these regions and host meetings.”
Drake, a doctor, has considerable experience in bringing people together, and she envisioned women from around the world “holding a space” where those from conflicted areas could gather and seek ways of meeting in harmony and empowering one another.
“On the phone conference, after I heard her speak about the idea, she asked, ‘Does anybody feel called to do this? Because if you do, let me know,” Lee recalls.
“When she spoke about this gathering, I immediately got tingles all over and I just felt like I was being pulled forward. I had never, until that moment, ever thought of going to the Middle East. But I felt a really strong pull that it was something I needed to do.”
She didn’t say anything on the phone, but afterwards she sent Drake an email, explaining her feeling about being called.
“I said, ‘If I don’t tell you now I might change my mind. There it is — I feel called.”
Drake invited Lee to be one of 33 women (“That was our goal, which we didn’t quite make”) who would travel to Jerusalem and meet with 33 women each from Israel and Palestine.
“So that’s how it came together,” Lee says. “So then we needed to fundraise to host this gathering. And that’s where this whole community was amazing.”
She met with BraveHeart Women Debby Johnson (who heads the local chapter), Amber Ward and Annette Agabob.
“We sat at Debby’s place, under a tree and drank lemonade and started to talk about ideas. Within three hours we had a plan and we started doing the paperwork.”
A dance-walk was organized for the day of the Creston Valley Fall Fair and the group worked to spread word about the plan.
“Thank you to Creston, to everybody who gave money or their time. Creative Fix, Gigabytes, Vital Health, Golden Herbs, Natural Options, Creston Card and Stationary — they made donations and helped to collect funds. It was incredible, the response from people that really grasped the significance of this gathering. We would be planting a seed for harmony, that’s what we wanted. Just a ripple that carries out into the community and creates the beginning of a shift.”
Funds were raised to send Lee and two other woman — one each from Israel and Palestine — to the conference.
“I don’t like asking people for money, but it wasn’t for me — it was to be able to host this World Harmony event to plant a seed.”
Participants from the West were provided with direction and advice before their arrival in Israel. Their enthusiasm and love was important, but they were also advised to be calm and grounded, not to worry about things like not having enough hot running water and other inconveniences.
“We were going into a place that is very volatile and the emotions are very raw. We needed to set an example.”
She met with other members of the group after deplaning in Tel Aviv. They had a day together to get to know one another, then headed to the West Bank. The group was put up in an older hotel near Jerusalem, where the conference would take place.
“There was a glimmer of understanding among us that this was a really courageous thing for the Palestinian women to be doing. Even though the meeting was in the West Bank, it took a lot of courage for them to attend. But as we progressed, we understood that it took a lot of courage on the part of the Israeli women, too, and I guess the western women, as well, to do this whole project.”
When all the participants arrived, there were 21 western women and about 50 from Israel and Palestine.
“The first day, when everybody gathered, the women segregated themselves. You could feel the tension in the air, but you could also feel the courage. If they didn’t want peace, for something different to happen in their communities, they wouldn’t have been there.”
The differences were obvious, Kendra said, with women from each side having grown up seeing each other as the enemy. To help break down the barriers, Drake assigned each woman in the room a new name.
“We were all named Harmony,” she smiles. “And we were all given a necklace with a sacred geometric shape, but they were all slightly different, to represent that we are all individuals. We went through a drumming exercise. We learned how to work together — that was stressed over and over and over, that we are one.”
After three days, the shift in attitudes was profound, she says.
“It took courage, trust, tears and love.”
Hugs were exchanged, friendships were made.
“At the end, we knew that the seed had been planted, but it has to be nurtured now.”
Another gathering is planned for 2014.
“We are hoping that there will be ten times the women at that one. Until then, it feels like there was a really strong pull to support these women in preparation for 2014.
One western woman is moving to the area to help maintain the communication and another is committed to facilitating small gatherings so the momentum isn’t lost.
Kendra has experienced her own shift, she admits, moving from a person who didn’t pay close attention to world news as it pertains to the Middle East to one who connects reports of the conflict to the individuals she met and spoke with and listened to.
“I think of all the people that I’ve worked one-on-one with, in my practice, helping them to heal — that prepared me to help facilitate change,” she says. “My life has shifted now and I’m going to be ‘out there’ a little more. It’s worth speaking out about.”
With one public presentation in Creston under her belt, Kendra said she plans to make another in January. Watch the Advance for more information.
For more information about BraveHeart Women and the local chapter, visit www.resonatekootenays.com.