SEATTLE — Tacoma resident Kwabi Amoah-Forson's mission started simply. He was intrigued by talking with people about what peace means to them. He started organizing conversations at fairs and community events and enlisted the help of his friends to document them on the Real Peace Podcast.
"I never thought of myself as being a peace activist or a peace campaigner, I was just going to work, doing grad school and doing my thing, but I felt like I was being unfulfilled," said Amoah-Forson. "I felt like I wasn't giving back to my community."
Amoah-Forson's mission grew, more people joined the effort, and The Peace Bus was born. From the doors of their bright blue 1988 Mitsubishi Van, The Peace Bus team travels to promote the principles of peace, create solidarity among communities and to deliver humanitarian aid to communities in need.
"We want to create an overall understanding of what peace means," said Amoah-Forson.
The Peace Bus recently completed a trip down the West Coast to the U.S. Mexican Border, interviewing people about their concept of peace and exploring what people can collectively do to build a more united world. Along the way, the Peace Bus Team gave out essential items like food, clothing, and hygiene products to people in need and shared their progress on thepeacebus.org and YouTube.
The next big excursion will likely be to the east coast next year, but for now The Peace Bus will stay closer to home and hopefully visit local schools to share their message, Amoah-Forson said.
Amoah-Forson is pursuing official official 501(c)(3) status for the non-profit.
Constants for peace are food, clothes and shelter.
Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5, and streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with New Day via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.