by Bill Magargal

Early in the conference US Peace Secretary, Karen Morian, and US member, Bill Magargal, presented a custom-made peace pole to Costa Rica to celebrate peace and to commemorate the conference. Karen explained that 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. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four. There are estimated to be more than 250,000  Peace Poles (plus ours) including every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.

Bill Magargal explained the design of the pole US Servas gifted to Costa Rica... that the center portion was originally designed and painted on wood by Stephanie Burgess of paintedpeace.com. The words "May Peace Prevail on Earth" are painted in four languages (English, Spanish, French, Hebrew), one on each of the four sides. All proceeds from the sale of this portion are donated to Samaritan's Purse International Relief Fund.

The remainder of the pole was designed by Bill. The top eight inches of the pole include logos and brief peace messages from each of the participating groups. The bottom 24" of the pole included totems and symbols from four of the major indigenous peoples of Costa Rica.

Members from Costa Rica and the US then gathered around the peace pole and exchanged hugs and greetings. The pole will be permanently placed in a public space to commemorate the conference and remind people of its intent. For more information about peace poles visit worldpeace.org.