When I first read the book by Loraine Burrows, Education in Human Values, a compilation of quotes on EHV by Baba, I was shocked. I could finally understand myself better. I could never have believed that I was as good as my classmates.

With these thoughts in mind, I had to find a way to connect myself with the EHV curriculum and training program. I was already involved in my community with some service projects but I wanted to make a trip to Thailand. When I realized that a trip to Thailand was too difficult to manage with a small baby and that the Zambia school was also too far, the only thing I could do was train myself right here, right now! I could not wait for any national EHV programs to come. It would have taken too long.

I felt an urge to start some activities with the kids from my neighborhood. Having Baba dreams also contributed to the confidence that I felt able to do something. Some kids were already coming to my apartment, either to play with my son and spend some time with us, or to help with the food service on Wednesdays.

So, we started. Our activity was planned every Saturday; the kids would come and we would discuss our neighborhood and school problems and how to improve them. In order to clarify the needs and to have a concrete result, we decided to make a small book about Harlem, with maps, sketches and drawings, as well as pictures. I thought that by bringing out all the positive aspects of our neighborhood we could see and feel our surroundings differently. Of course, the backdrop of our experience was based on human values.

This experiment worked for a month or two. But very quickly I had to face some family situations. Because most of the kids had bad results or bad behavior at school, the parents would punish them and didn't want them to enjoy themselves in any way, even though we were seriously working. Most of the kids also had to help their parents at home, taking care of siblings or buying groceries, and whatever I was doing was putting the kids in another perspective than what "the home" was expecting them to be or to do. Slowly, our early Saturday brunch became empty and only the parents would show up to apologize for the missing child. I didn't want the children to feel better in my house than in theirs, especially when we were living in the same building.

I could not sleep at night; I was asking Baba for guidance. By coincidence, James, a young gentleman from my building who had come a few times to my place for his artwork, asked me to join him in a meeting with the assistant principal of the Wadleigh High School located next door. After our conversation, he was very happy and soon he introduced me to a class he thought I could contribute to.

This was my first step: volunteering in the public school system. I was helping another art teacher by bringing an architectural and urban approach into her class. We decided to make my initial book project into an exhibit and offer it to the school for its 100th year anniversary. I saw this project as a perfect opportunity to introduce Education in Human Values.

Even though it was not the real implementation of an EHV program, it was an extremely positive experience to look at our community through the five most important human values: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-Violence. We enjoyed it a lot, especially sketching on the streets and taking pictures. The connection with older people sitting on benches and discussing while we were drawing was very sweet and loving. Often, other kids playing outside joined us. It went on for a year and everybody was happy.

While I was on vacation in my native country, France, I visited my friend Roseline, who is a sculptor and an art therapist. Roseline has an association called Prema that takes care of children under bad conditions or who have been subjected to violence and deserve a better family. She made her house their home, with a beautiful garden and nice atmosphere.

When my Dad visited me in New York, he told me that Roseline's group had done an amazing exhibition with three-dimensional birds made with huge, wood planks. He thought that those birds should fly in the streets of New York! What a genius idea! Of course I loved it and in no time, I imagined the connection with the kids of my neighborhood and the kids from the Prema Association.

This is how I really started to train myself and understand more about EHV. This time the assistant principal allowed me to work with him and have my own group of kids.

When I first introduced myself to the students (ages between 13 and 16), I presented this idea and the goal to meet the French friends and together create an art exhibition, based on "Human Values," here in New York City. Believe it or not, I got seven volunteer students, exactly the same number as the children in France. I was very touched and surprised by this coincidence or let us say, this "Sai incidence". This was the real beginning of the "A travel for Peace" project and the "Birds of Hope" were on their way.

At this time I was already associated with the United Nations. I used to volunteer for an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), Airline Ambassador International, which works to help kids all around the world. I presented this project to the United Nations Airline Ambassador's representative. She was very excited about the project and from word of mouth, "A travel for peace" got all it needed and a few people started to believe in it. I never doubted this project would happen. I just could not figure out the amount of work that was required for it.

Meanwhile, back at the school, I practiced Swami's teachings the best I could. I remember praying as soon as I woke up to forgive my lack of experience and my mistakes. I remember asking Him before the class started to talk through me. The value I was practicing the most for myself was Love. I remember Loraine Burrows saying that if you have Love you have everything.

At the beginning of the year, all the students would stare at me, wondering what I was talking about. Imagine, the first class in the morning, 7:45am, most of the people still sleepy or tired, but those seven students were all on time, always there. I constantly repeated to them this quote from Gandhi: 'Be the world you want.' Everyday we would put this statement into practice.

I used to give them a lot of homework, knowing that it was a way to continue to visualize and feel the world in a positive sense. I was extremely strict with the homework. I never attached too much importance to the results, but I definitely expected them to have shown some interest and put their hearts into what I asked them to do.

Some drew, others only wrote, but all of them had to feel from within. One girl once wrote in her homework that since she started working with this group, she sees the world differently. She now wanted to implement in her neighborhood a soup kitchen, or at least prepare some sandwiches. Previously, she said she would think about walking her dog, but now she sees that she can contribute to her community by sharing and helping. When I read that, tears came in my eyes, which she witnessed. I was speechless.

The seven students would close their eyes and practice silent sitting for one to three minutes. The other students would laugh at them, but they didn't move. After silent sitting, I gave them one of the five values to work on. Without talking or saying anything, I wanted them to feel from within and write about it. After five minutes, they would read it to others.

Then, I would ask them to feel the value again and to draw it. No matter what size of paper they were using, they would have to cover it completely. Like a painting, I wanted them to express the value with force and conviction on the whole page. It was not easy in the beginning, but so much fun later. They would even draw with their eyes closed.

When we began to work and build the birds, everything started to be real. Painting the large wood planks for the birds, the students were totally free. No one, teachers nor parents, could believe how happy and committed the students became. Watching them painting was really unbelievable. It became something so natural for them, like breathing as they expressed their art.

All of a sudden this class became the attraction of the school. From two morning classes a week, it became three, and towards everyday and much longer than one hour. Slowly I started to see other students interested in the project. By the end of the project, 12 students were working regularly on it and three entire classes joined it.

After the students sketched birds from the "Bird House" in the Zoo, I asked them, without looking at their sketches to remember which bird they like the most. They had to draw their own birds. They had to feel the bird and build a relationship with it. In this secret relationship, the student had to know how to speak to his or her bird, to know how this bird will behave, how to make it fly and dream about what it will do.

The students had to refer their birds to one of the five values: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love, Non-Violence. Below are poems written by some of the students:

	My bird of Peace Power of tranquility is what we need during good and bad times. Equality for all things or types, animals or humans. Actions are what make the differences, and values are just sounds that vibrate in the air. Conduct is important in order for Peace to take place. Equally with others I will contribute with my tranquility, equality in actions and right conduct. This will bring out the best in me and maybe the best in others.

My bird of LOVE
My bird of PEACE
My bird of TRUTH
My bird of RIGHT CONDUCT
My bird of NON VIOLENCE

Meanwhile, the United Nations, with Airline Ambassador and the ACF (Association Culturelle Francophone) was preparing an event. In fact, it had been decided that the birds could fly in New York, and specifically in the UN gardens for two weeks in May 2000, with a grand opening reception on the 16th. They also planned a piano concert and invited two artists, one American, one French, to read the students' poetry on human values, in front of all the students and delegations present. The pianist was a priest from Canada, who came especially for the event. It was great. Imagine the faces of the kids when those artists were reading their piece of poetry. It was unbelievable!

The French group came and joined the Harlem kids in New York. The relationship between the children was incredible. I remember a girl telling me, "I never thought I could love again." I had witnessed smiles that I never saw before. Both groups participated in the Harlem food service project, and enjoyed themselves very much.

What a beauty to see all those birds, American and French, flying outside in the garden of the United Nations, under the flags of all the countries. It was a special blessing when a few hours before the opening someone told me that Mrs. Nane Annan, the wife of the Secretary General of the UN, would come and cut the red ribbon. Roseline was also blessed; May 16th is her birthday.

My dream was coming true. At the end of the performance, the core group students from France and America came on stage and sang a song that that was also sung in front of Swami

Let the Love we're sharing spread its wings, fly across the earth and bring new joy to every soul that is alive
Let all the beings in all the worlds be happy
Laisse l'amour qu'on partage ouvrir ses ailes, voler par-dessus la terre et donner joie a toute les ames qui sont en vie
Que tous les etres dans tous les mondes soient heureux