450 children, a water park and ice cream!

*All names changed to protect identity

It's difficult to explain how much work went into this momentous event.

Yes, it just looks like some solid project management, permission slips, a few buses and lots of water. But it was so much more than that — this was a ground breaking or should we say, boundary breaking event...

Before we expand on this, let's see what some of the kids had to say about the day.

• "The truth is, this is super good because we are meeting people from other communities that we didn't know before."

• "What excited me the most about this day, was that all the communities have been able to gather and break the barriers we have had that had made getting together so difficult."

• "I think that these gatherings are something magical for all the children."

• "Peace is a very important value and every person should have it in their heart."

Now, let's expand the context of the above quotes a little.

When the kids mention 'meeting new kids' and 'breaking boundaries' as highlights of the day, they're saying that because most of these children...

Would never have left their own communities (it's too risky, stray bullets kill).

Would never have met children from other communities (it's too dangerous, they may be lookouts).

They would never have safely ventured outside their communities (it's not safe).

For many, this excursion was the first time to the city. It was a BIG deal!

Each community has 'invisible lines' enforced by warring gangs.

Crossing the line could mean death. A child only needs to step on the wrong side of the street and a stray bullet can kill them.

These boundaries or lines limit the ability of children to play, explore and go beyond the borders of their community. They also enforce unhealthy stereotypes of 'other' and teach children to grow up fearing people beyond their community borders.

Peace Clubs work to provide safe places for children living in extremely violent communities. In many instances, we are the only organisation that has worked to build trust and enter these communities.

We are committed to not only investing in the present but the future.

We don't simply want to provide peaceful alternatives within the confines of these communities, we want to ensure that the next generation of Honduran children can view themselves and others through a lens of peace and value, not fear.

Bringing 450 children together from 10 different communities was future-making stuff. It's literally never been done before and your gift helped make it happen!

The Peace Clubs have an incredible 3-year program that young people work through, along with community and church volunteer committees, these programmes are designed to be sustainable and scale, so peace continues to grow.

In some of the Peace Clubs, we now see young people choosing to become community leaders. Taking what they've learnt in the programme and forming new groups to teach and empower younger children.

Your gift is helping to build a peace-filled future by delivering and promoting self-awareness, resilience, values, child rights and an example of the possibility for peaceful communities.