Northeast Maritime Institute in Fairhaven, Mass., is partnering with the U.S. Department of State in “The Fairhaven Project” a project aimed at building bonds of friendship between youths whose homes and communities have been torn apart as a result of political conflict and war.
The project aims to give a hands-on vocational experience, combined with an up-close-and-personal bonding, with the supposed enemy at the same time. “Since early American sailing history, Fairhaven has been a safe harbor for sailors. It’s no less so for this group,” said Bob Senseney of the Federal Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, which put the project together.
Students will learn the basics of coastal navigation and seamanship and be challenged through a variety of team-building exercises designed to build long-term friendships and a spirit of reliance on each other as a community. They will also study marine ecology as a means of teaching the future leaders of these countries that there are alternatives to violence.
The inaugural program was run for three weeks in August 2008. Participants were filmed as part of an upcoming documentary. For more information, visit our website: www.thefairhavenproject.com
