Today’s Deseret News has an article on Deb Sawyer, a local peace activist in Salt Lake.
Deb is the director for The Gandhi Alliance for Peace, which has the mission of bringing the teachings of Gandhi to schools and providing assistance to citizens in countries ravaged by war and disaster. Projects of the Gandhi Alliance for Peace include Landmines (through its Adop-A-Minefield Program–providing support to remove landmines in Afghanistan) and Tsunami Relief.
“Our kids aren’t being taught non-violence,” she says. “Their images of bravery are of people standing up to violence with more violence. We want to teach them that there’s another way.”
Currently, Deb and her friends are raising funds to help villagers in Afghanistan, a country littered with millions of land mines and unexploded ordnance. Through the “Adopt-a-Minefield” program, land is being cleared so war refugees can find a safe place to resettle.
Deb has provided speeches and stories at local peace rallies in the past:
March 15, 2003
September 11, 2003
Every year the The Gandhi Alliance for Peace holds “Night of a Thousand Dinners” to raise money for its Adopt-A-Minefield Program. My vocal students from school are always invited by Deb to perform at this event, which is enjoyed by many and a great experience for my students.
Deb Sawyer is truly a model for peace activists in our community. I have always admired her and was happy today to see her and the work she is doing highlighted in a major Utah newspaper.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 