2023.03 -- US Storybook 2022 updated 4.14 - Flipbook - Page 50
a 19-year-old PeacePlayer from Durban, South Africa.
Thanks to Ed and Penelope Peskowitz, the in-person Friendship Games
took place this past summer [2022], and even now, several months later,
we are still hearing and seeing the impact of those in-person games.
“You spent [one] week with these people and you got to know them so
deeply and so well and then you just kind of went your separate ways.
But that didn’t mean that it had to completely stop.” Indeed, Nathan
didn’t let those connections stop; within a few days he was in the
WhatsApp groups created by the Friendship Games Alums, and to the
delight of his Brooklyn peers, let them know that he’d be in the United
States for a work opportunity. “We were all happy that someone was
actually coming to experience our life,” says Julia, 16, from PeacePlayers
Brooklyn. Nathan’s visit meant she would get to act as a tour guide,
sort of how they were guided around Israel at Friendship Games. Now
it was Julia’s turn to show Nathan the parts of New York that they, the
PeacePlayers of Brooklyn, experience.
So what did their meetup entail? Well, the initial plan was to play
basketball somewhere in Brooklyn, but it rained… so they did the next
best thing - they went to Atlantic Mall! Here they reflected on their
time at the Friendship Games and shared more about themselves and
where they come from. The importance of this opportunity – to share
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PEACEPLAYERS UNITED STATES STORYBOOK
