A penny here, a penny there, adds up like pennies from heaven for impoverished children in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

PeaceBuilders at Redmond Elementary School are collecting pennies now through March 31 to help build schools in those underserved communities.

“Redmond Elementary has been a showcase PeaceBuilders site that has inspired many schools and youth-based organizations in the surrounding area to adopt the PeaceBuilders program,” said Donna Burcher, communications director for PeacePartners, Inc.

Redmond Elementary principal Janice Heid started the program at Kirkland’s Ben Rush Elementary in 1996 and later brought it to her current school.

“The secret to their success with building peace at their school is the praise and encouragement they provide youth, along with adult role-modeling of the six simple PeaceBuilders Principles,” Burcher noted.

Redmond Elementary counselor Leslie Fields shared the six principles, which can be useful in any school, work or social setting: “Praise people. Give up putdowns. Seek wise people. Right wrongs. Notice hurts. Help others.”

Heid said that children at Redmond Elementary are reminded of these tenets every single school day. They recite a daily PeaceBuilders pledge and sing a PeaceBuilders song. Most importantly, they are given constant opportunities to put their words into action. And they receive positive reinforcement when they go out of their way to peacefully resolve conflicts or support a peer who is having a bad day.

“Kids see how every single thing they do, every day, increases or decreases the peace. They see that what they do makes a difference,” Heid emphasized. “Teachers recognize kids for their excellence and every month we have a luncheon to honor these kids.”

The Pennies for Peace campaign, inspired by the kids’ version of Greg Mortenson’s best-selling book “Three Cups of Tea,” has been organized by the sixth grade leadership group at Redmond Elementary. Kids have volunteered to get the word out and do penny pick-ups in their free time. Publicity chairs Danuta Egle, Mahre Connor and Grace Mahan explained how they’ve appealed to their fellow students to get involved in this and other PeaceBuilders activities.

“It’s really important in elementary school because it explains to little children from the start to have respect for other people and have them treated the same as you,” said Egle. “It gives them the right start to have respect for yourself, your teachers and classmates.”

Connor agreed, “It’s important for older children to set an example for younger kids, make it a better school and make things run more smoothly.”

Mahan pointed out, “Elementary school is a time to learn from your mistakes. In junior high, you won’t always get a second chance, you might get suspended. When I see little kids having an argument on the playground, I try to settle it. I ask what’s wrong and try to calm them down. If that fails, I get a recess teacher to help. Sometimes kids who come from different schools, not PeaceBuilders schools, have to be educated. Then we can help them introduce the principles to others.”

With regard to Pennies for Peace, Egle commented, “Getting this little town of Redmond to make a difference in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan really blows my mind.”

Heid said the students are coming to realize that “the world has gotten smaller” through technology like the Internet. They feel connected to peers in far-away countries and are able to see the stark contrasts in their communities.

“We have poverty here, but not at that level,” said Heid.

Mahan nodded, “They’re writing with sticks in the sand. They only have teachers three times a week. We have school six hours a day and all the supplies we need.”

The Redmond Elementary PeaceBuilders hope to raise at least $500 in pennies by March 31. Collection containers can be found at the Redmond Regional Library, Redmond City Hall, Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center and elsewhere.

For more information about the global Pennies for Peace initiative, visit www.penniesforpeace.org. To learn more about PeaceBuilders at Redmond Elementary, contact Leslie Fields at lfields@lwsd.org.