Cusco, Peru,the former capital of the Incan empire from the 13th– 16th centuries, is an extraordinary city of more than 480,000 people. Indeed, in 1983, UNESCO officially declared it a World Heritage site. Since that time, it has hosted more than two million tourists per year.
Despite Cusco’s fascinating legacy, it also has a long history of violence – not just on its streets, but in its classrooms, as well – a challenging phenomenon that motivated officials, in 2018, to support The Prem Rawat Foundation’s Peace Education Program in a wide variety of schools in the region.
The good news? Since then – with students, teachers, and police who have participated in the program collaborating in new ways – a culture of peace is emerging.
These days, it is not just the city at 11,200 feet (3,414 m) that is elevated, so are the hopes and dreams of thousands of its citizens in response to the positive impact the Peace Education Program is having.
To date, more than 78,000 people at more than 370 schools have participated in this innovative program that helps people discover their own inner strength and personal peace. It has given this well-known area of Peru the distinction of having more Peace Education Program activity than anywhere else in the world.
On March 22, as part of Prem Rawat’s South American Tour, he addressed an appreciative audience of students, teachers, police officers and local leaders who have participated in the Peace Education Program throughout the Cusco region of Peru.
The event was the first time he has met, in person, with local program participants in Cusco.
You are young. You’re going to go through many adventures… a lot of crossroads.
And do you know what those crossroads are?
Places where you are going to
have to make a choice.
What do you want in your life? Peace or war?
– Prem Rawat, Cusco, Peru, March 22, 2024
Watch a video replay of the event here.
Please turn on subtitles (cc) in the YouTube screen for available translations.
Peace is never far from you. Joy is never far from you. Satisfaction is never far from you. It is not a question of whether you can have peace or not.
Peace is already in you.
– Prem Rawat, Cusco, Peru, March 22, 2024
More than 1,400 students and community leaders attended the event in-person. An additional 80,480 students and teachers from 503 schools across the Cusco region of Peru watched the livestream, according to school officials.
“It was a dream come true for all of the students,” said Lilly Harvie, the Peace Education Program volunteer who played a key role in the program’s expansion throughout the region.
Several local speakers, including the Regional Director of Education, and a variety of inspired students, had an opportunity to speak from their heart about the various ways in which the Peace Education program is helping transform lives and benefiting the community.
I am here to express my thanks to Mr. Prem Rawat for the noble work he’s been doing all these years offering his support even to the small rural areas of Peru. Thank you for showing us that peace does not have borders.
– Cusco student representative
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