A half-hour ferry ride from downtown Seattle, on tiny Bainbridge Island, are the headquarters of this thriving international organization. I began, on my first day, with the simplest of tasks, sending out packets of information about the Earthstewards to the numerous people who write in. This gave me an opportunity to read up on the group's history, ongoing programs and workshops. PeaceTrees Vietnam was the twentieth in a series of reforestation projects carried out by the Earthstewards over the last 10 years around the world, from South Central L.A. to Kayelitsha Township in South Africa. It is hard physical labor by day, and in the evening the participants are taught skills which will help them to become tomorrow's leaders.
Participants live and work together.
I was amazed at the scope and diversity of their work. From that first day also, I answered the phone and found myself responding, not only to the callers' requests for information, but more importantly to their unspoken desire for a connection to something bigger than themselves. People called from all over the world, and they wanted to talk. The oddest and most wonderful thing is that I seemed to be quietly encouraged by the office staff to take my time with these people, as if we were mainly there, after all, to share ourselves with them. There were many moments of fretful self-examination, where everything I'd been taught about work and a decent career was turned upside down.