Martin Luther King Jr's Dream is Our Dream

thea • January 15, 2022

Dear Friends,


Martin Luther King Jr. influences everything we do at House of Hope Vision School. You can find his legacy in our daily nonviolent prayer, which our students recite every morning, in the murals painted on our walls, and in our classroom lectures. 


His dream is our dream.


For nations like Palestine that are living under poverty, occupation, corruption, and injustice, Martin Luther King Jr. stressed the use of nonviolent resistance. This resistance should cause no harm or violence to any human being, whether they be a Muslim, Christian, or Jew.


Today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we honor his memory by remembering his six core principles of nonviolence:


1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is an active nonviolent resistance to evil.


2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation.


3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims.


4. Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence willingly accepts the consequences of its acts.


5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence to the spirit as well as the body. Nonviolence love is active, not passive. Nonviolence love does not sink to the level of the hater. Love restores community and resists injustice. Nonviolence recognizes the fact that all life is interrelated.


6. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win.


What we are working on today at House of Hope is first and foremost in the philosophy of nonviolence. The means must be as pure as the end. Nonviolence seeks to achieve moral ends through moral means. At House of Hope, we also refuse to inflict injury upon another. We refuse to cooperate with evil. We believe in each human’s potential for goodness and love.



Martin Luther King Jr. understood that fear is an obstacle to freedom. Fear and pride can kill a man and push their liberation farther away.


Martin Luther King Jr. also taught that love is the key to building healthy communities. Love should be at the center of our social interactions. We as the House of Hope administration, teachers, and support staff believe in the power of love to build healthy communities based on love. This is a liberation that works for everyone. This is the path to freedom.


Salaam,


Milad Vosgueritchian, Chairman, Vision Association for Culture and Arts


A group of children are sitting around a man holding a piece of paper.
December 17, 2024
Nonviolence Is The Path of the Soul
A young boy wearing a graduation cap and gown is standing in front of a bush of pink flowers.
November 16, 2024
What is Peace and Justice Education, and Why is it Crucial in Palestine?
Two young girls hugging each other in a park
By thea November 16, 2024
At House of Hope, we provide Palestinian students with a holistic education created by and for Palestinians that combines Peace and Justice Education with Trauma-Informed practices.
A boy and a girl are playing with wooden blocks on the floor.
By thea September 19, 2024
The launch of the House of Hope Peace and Justice Education Fund marks an exciting and transformative moment for our community. This initiative is built upon the core principles of peace and justice, which are not merely aspirational ideals. We live them daily, often under the most difficult circumstances in the West Bank.
A group of children posing for a picture with Manar Wahhab, House of Hope’s Co-Founder
By thea September 1, 2024
50% of parents said House of Hope's kindergarten profoundly reduced their child's toxic stress and trauma symptoms in under 1 year.
A girl is standing on a beach looking at the ocean.
By thea June 7, 2024
At House of Hope, every Palestinian child has a different story of growing up under Occupation. But one thing is always present in each of their stories— the resilient hope for peace, joy, and prosperity for their families, their community, and the world. House of Hope was thrilled to partner with Color Up Peace , a Ukrainian peacebuilding startup, to capture our teachers' hope for peace in new and interactive ways- like coloring books of their visions for peace. House of Hope teachers selected photos that represented their vision of peace. Then, Lisa Glybchenko, founder of Color Up Peace, rendered these photo-based visions of peace as coloring pages for you to color ! Below, you are invited to read what inspired each teacher to select their photo, as well as download the corresponding coloring page . “Playing the Darbukah with Friends,” Selected by House of Hope Teacher's Aide Abed "I feel freedom and inner peace when my fingers play darbukah. I feel my spirit so happy when I hear music. It is the way to seek peace when the universe dances together and sings for peace day and night." - Abed Download Abed's coloring page vision for peace and justice here .
A black and white photo of a man with a beard wearing a plaid shirt.
By thea April 27, 2024
Palestinians need freedom and not tanks and an army against them. Palestinians demand dignity and human rights. They need a state of their own, not an occupation party ruling and organizing their life. We need the world to see us as humans.
Stop This War. Now.
By thea October 13, 2023
This is the cruelest time for human beings in Palestine and Israel. The pain is profound. Children are, yet again, paying the highest price. But we must not sit idly by as the violence traumatizes yet another generation.
A woman wearing a pink hijab and a green shirt is standing in front of a tree.
By thea February 13, 2023
At the graduation ceremony for her first kindergarten class, Zain, a 25-year-old Waldorf teacher at House of Hope, watched the students walk up to the front of the room to receive their diplomas. The students beamed with pride, and Zain reminisced on the children's growth since the start of the school year. She fondly remembered when she first met the students and began learning about each one of them. Two young girls stood out as they spent most of their time withdrawn, isolated from the rest of the other children, and unable to express their feelings.
By thea October 8, 2022
Trauma-informed education considers how trauma and toxic stress impact children’s ability to learn and develop in a healthy way.
More Posts