How We Started

Hello! I'm Jacqui, the founder of GPP, and I wanted to share the story of how this initiative began.

In 2023, I started my work with the Dogon people of Mali. I was initially asked to assist with creating a website and raising awareness about the need for school supplies in the developing villages of Dogon Country. I eventually ended up directing this micro-charity and sharing about the Dogon with my homeschool community.

I explained how my method of engaging children with culture has significantly evolved since I started working with kids nearly 20 years ago, due to my interactions with this community. I came to understand how superficial my cultural engagements were, how they failed to address the genuine lived experiences of cultural peoples today. I didn’t consider my own position and responsibility in the human network stemming from the privilege of being born in the US.

Other parents, many of whom were also former teachers, shared their experiences as well as their struggle with wanting to engage with culture in a good way - but not really knowing how. I was lucky to know activists in this field through whom I could learn, and with whom I could clarify my understandings and ideas.

From the beginning of this endeavor, I saw a significant opportunity for all involved. Or better said, it’s more like the organization showed me what it really wanted to be.

I understood the importance of ensuring that Dogon students were not merely recipients of charity but also empowered contributors. As I spent more time engaging with them and observing their way of life, I thought, "Wouldn't it be incredible if we could connect these kids, with their unique lifestyle, needs, and experiences, to children here in the US? Surely, if we brought these kids together, they could achieve amazing things."

When I shared this idea with my work partner in Mali, he fully supported it and agreed to facilitate it with his students through a virtual program. If we could get them a small solar panel setup, a computer, and some funding for internet access they would be online and ready to go.

It was just a dream, but one that carried immense energy that wouldn't dissipate. I had numerous ideas on how this could be achieved and began talking about it with people, and getting feedback and advice.

It became evident that the charity work of "Dogon Dreams" needed to evolve into something that could realize a broader vision and access more funding sources. With the global turmoil in 2024 and these factors combined, I decided to present this idea to others who may want to get involved to see what we could accomplish together.

I realized that this model could be scaled to include and support children from various parts of the so called "developing" world. I also realized that what we were doing was completely aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and the Summit of the Future which highlighted the urgency for realizing global cooperation amongst the youth. There didn't seem to be much time to lose in getting the next generation together around cooperating on global solutions.

For me, this is and was truly about bringing people together into a creative endeavor with the above goals and asking, "What magic can we create in the world through through our collective efforts?"

From all of this, Global Peace Partners was born.

Today, it seems that we have all of the technology and resources to be living more peacefully, cooperatively, and resourced than ever on Earth - and yet we are not seeing this reality manifest. Why is this?

It appears that we are approaching new endeavors with outdated mindsets, and our children deserve far better. It's time to adopt new paradigms while still respecting and maintaining what is ancient and significant.