:: Portable Libraries Training Workshop in Vietnam August 3 &4. GVF staff in Vietnam, including Le Ly Hayslip, have just completed the first of a series of literacy and Portable Library trainings which will help train over 150 teachers, librarians and administrators from 50 schools in literacy education techniques and Portable Libraries use...   >>

:: August 26 GVF Benefit in Jacksonville, Oregon launches fundraising drive. GVF Board Members Dr. Ralph Duffin and Linda Moreau are busily planning an evening of food and fun in Oregon, featuring fine Vietnamese cuisine personally prepared by Le Ly Hayslip, featuring Vietnamese entertainment and a showing of the new documentary pilot From War to Peace and Beyond
... >>

:: 2006 Bridge of Peace Awards with hosts Oliver Stone, and special guest Martin Sheen, celebrates five courageous peacemakers from around the world. See here for a full report and photos...   >>

:: GVF begins fast and fun
online fundraising drive, letting you develop your own "fundraising families" with the click of a mouse...   >>

:: New "Dental Health Education Project" (DHEP) begins fund drive, bringing dental education and vital resources to the children of Vietnam...   >>

:: Le Ly returns home to Vietnam for funeral of Tran Thi Huyen, her 102 year-old mother, and shares her thoughts and descriptions of village customs and ceremonies of "living and dying" ...   >>

:: GVF co-sponsors Returning Veterans Retreat for Iraq and Afghan war veterans with Claude Anshin Thomas, decorated Vietnam veteran and Buddhist monk...>>

Global Village Foundation Co-sponsors Historic "Returning Veterans Retreat" for veterans of the Afghan and Iraq wars with Vietnam Vet and Buddhist Monk Claude Anshin Thomas

Ending War, Living Peace:
A Soldier’s Journey to the Heart of Conflict -

We who have fought in war know intimately about life and death. We who have been wounded by war - physically, psychologically and spiritually - need to come together in order to support each other.

Many of us live with the after effects of war, known as post-traumatic stress: explosive anger, depression, and flashbacks. The attempts of traditional counseling and therapy, although valuable in our

Claude Anshin Thomas, Vietnam vet and Buddhist monk

healing, often leave our spiritual wounds unaddressed. Without doing the work of healing spiritually, we only address the symptoms, and this often does not support a change in our hearts and our minds.

You are invited to attend this retreat regardless of your religious or spiritual tradition. We will practice many different forms of meditation. Meditation can simply be understood as the art of discovering what prevents us from living directly.

- Claude Anshin Thomas

Returning Veterans Retreat- Los Angeles (RVeR-LA) with Vietnam vet and Buddhist monk Claude Anshin Thomas, August 18 through the 21st in Los Angeles. 

The retreat is a healing retreat for returning veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom, as we know from Vietnam, will carry the psychological and emotional wounds of war with them for many years to come.  As part of Global Village Foundation's and Le Ly Hayslip's historical mission of bringing reconciliation and hope to the war-ravaged people and land of Vietnam, as well as Le Ly's early work with Veteran's in helping to foster understanding and compassion between former enemies, we are proud to be part of this effort to bring healing and understanding to those who have suffered as a result of the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As many of you know, Claude Anshin Thomas was the presenter of this year's Bridge of Peace Award to Thich Nhat Hanh, and many of you may have had the opportunity to meet him there.  He is also the author of At Hell's Gate: A Veteran's Journey from War to Peace, and has spent many years doing workshops and retreats for other veterans and victims of war and violence.

If you know someone who has recently returned from a tour of duty--serving in Iraq or Afghanistan--please share this information with them.  If you would like more information, contact numbers and complete information are included below.

If you would like a printable flyer for distribution and posting, see links provided at bottom of this page.

Thank you for helping us get the word out and please share this with your veteran friends, families, churches, workplaces and others.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call Global Village Foundation or the numbers below.

The Mehadi Foundation,
The Soldiers Project, PatrickSpirit.org, & Veterans For Peace - LA
Present
Returning Vets Retreat (RVeR - LA)
A retreat for healing, reflection, and sharing,
by and for returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan
with Claude Anshin Thomas
Friday, 18 August thru Monday, 21 August 2006
Zen Center of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Claude Anshin Thomas volunteered for active duty at the age of 17, and volunteered for Vietnam at 18, where he served as a crew chief on assault helicopters. He has been awarded 27 Air Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Purple Heart.  He also witnessed horrifying cruelty, and was responsible for the deaths of many Vietnamese. When he returned home he continued to live in a state of war, struggling with severe post-traumatic stress (PTSD), drug and alcohol addiction, isolation, and homelessness.

Today he is a Buddhist monk, peace activist, author, and teacher.  In his book, At Hell’s Gate: A Soldier’s Journey from War to Peace, he shares his spiritual odyssey from the horrors of combat to a path to healing. Claude AnShin’s efforts to employ a non-judging attitude, his honesty in not knowing, and his humor in these often dramatically tragic fields accompany his approach to healing and transformation. This  4-day retreat will focus on transforming the seeds of violence in ourselves so that we are able to live with less judgment and more well being, tolerance and peace. This will be the ninth such retreat.

"Meditation practice helps me to live with myself and with my family more peacefully. It helps me to stay centered, to sit within myself when strong feelings are rising."
                                                                            Mike DeMayo, veteran retreat participant

Cost is $250.  Registration and Transportation Scholarships are available.
To Register Please Contact: 310-703-3964 or 818-640-4931
E-Mail: returningvetsretreat@yahoo.com 

Mail Tax Deductible Donations to: “Veterans for Peace – L.A.”
c/o Mehadi Foundation, 516 North Griffith Park Drive, Burbank CA 91506.
Or visit: http://www.mehadifoundation.org

Additional Sponsors: Evan Ashcraft Memorial Foundation, Freedom from War, Global Village Foundation, Topanga Peace Alliance with other grassroots organizations.

:: Registration Form>>
:: Printable and Downloadable PDF Flyer >>
:: Printable and Downloadable PDF Registration Form>>