BANGOR (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The city of Bangor is standing in solidarity Saturday with the more than 2,600 rallies happening around the world during Campaign Nonviolence Week.
More than 35 local and faith-based organizations joined forces downtown to raise awareness and work to “end violence together.”
“This is what I want to devote my life to,” said Peace and Justice Center intern, Jamie Pratt.
The University of Maine senior’s summer internship is just the start. She wants to make it her life’s work.
“Helping others, educate others,” added Pratt.
She began interning with the Peace and Justice Center after seeing inequality and poverty firsthand.
“Last semester I was studying abroad in Cape town, South Africa, and the wage gap from poverty to the elite rich within Cape town and South Africa in general is extreme,” said Pratt.
While Pratt saw injustice abroad, others see it happening here in Maine.
Bangor High School senior Olivia Baldacci also works with the Peace and Justice Center. She worked to help organize Saturday’s event.
“We just try to encourage students at our school to be more nice to each other, understand inequalities in our world, and be kind,” said Baldacci.
Baldacci said she’s passionate about social justice and art, and working with the Peace and Justice Center has helped her right the wrongdoings she sees here at home.
“When I was in middle school, I experienced sexual harassment and I was very confused about what that was because I was so young,” said Baldacci. “As I grew older, I realized that it’s not a one-time thing. It happens to a lot of women and men and I just realize that even in our small town, it happens. We should actively try to prevent things like this from happening and create a welcoming, understanding culture.”
Looking to the future, Baldacci and Pratt hope to host more events like Saturday’s “connecting all of Maine” together.
Internationally, Campaign Nonviolence Week includes the United Nations International Day of Peace on Friday, September 21st, and culminates the following Sunday, September 23rd.