Manheim Township High School plants Peace Pole Lancaster County Pennsylvania-USA

April 9, 2025

Manheim Township High School celebrated a new addition at the entrance of its school April 9: a 6-foot tall, white Peace Pole. It carries a simple but profound message in eight languages: “May peace prevail on Earth.”

The project is a collaboration between Lancaster Sunrise Rotary Club and its student Interact club at the high school, which encourages community service in youth. The pole was purchased from the Peace Pole Project for $400; the cost was shared by the two clubs. The Peace Pole Project is the signature project of May Peace Prevail on Earth International, an organization that promotes unity and peace.

Planting this in our community is a catalyst for more kindness and a peaceful mentality in an ever-divided world,” says Ked Kantz, social studies teacher and adviser for the Interact club at Manheim Township High School. “Peace is a great universal message for the high school population and also our community.”

Kantz says the languages printed on the Peace Pole represent the diverse student body at the school: English, Spanish, Dari (a variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan), Swahili, Haitian Creole, Turkish, Burmese and French. At the dedication, a student fluent in each of those said, “May peace prevail on Earth” in their respective language.”

Saadullah Nasimi, a senior, came to the United States in 2021 from Afghanistan. He speaks Dari and English and said that, for him, the Peace Pole “sets the pace for the day” when he walks by it.

“It is a fun project to be involved in,” said Jocelyn Parise, a senior and Interact club president. “It’s a good reminder for students to act in peaceful ways and get the community involved.”

“The purpose is to celebrate peace and humanity and promote peace on Earth,” said Dave Ament, Lancaster Sunrise Rotary Interact liaison. It is “designed to bring people of various cultures and political ideals together with one united goal of the heart.”

Manheim Township High School’s Interact club engages 25 students, ages 14 to 18, with the Rotary goal of “service above self” and puts them on a life path of contributing to the community, explains Kantz.

Interact’s primary focus over the past year has been working with Lancaster Sunrise to raise money for food banks and Off the Streets, a local organization that helps people experiencing homelessness. The students also contribute supplies and volunteer their time supporting mothers at the Domestic Violence Shelter of Lancaster County by playing with their children and reading to them. The Peace Pole complements the club’s goals throughout the community.

The club “cultivates in young people a heart for service,” Kantz says. “Peace is an important message for the high school population and also the community.”

“The Peace Pole should inspire unity and dialogue,” said Rotary Club of Lancaster President Patricia Savage at the dedication. She said the one at Manheim Township High School is the first Peace Pole in this Rotary district.

Kantz says he hopes the idea will grow and spread, with other Peace Poles sprouting up around the county.

“It is exciting that the Peace Pole incorporates different languages, cultures and experiences at our school,” says George Bassilly, an 11th grader and member of the Interact club. “Your country may be at war — Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, etc. — but people are still striving for peace in the world and bringing things back together.”

PEACE POLES

A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth, explains the Peace Pole Project’s website.

The first pole bearing peace promoting words was erected in Japan in 1955, marking the 10th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The late Masahisa Goi of Japan responded to the destruction with an awakened need to spread the message of peace in hearts around the globe. By the 1970s, the idea of placing the peace message on poles gained popularity. Today, there are approximately 250,000 Peace Poles, found in countries around the world, dedicated as monuments to peace.

KARYL CARMIGNANI | For LNP | Lancaster Online