Peace Bus Breakfast Fund helping South Sound families in need

Peace is action. And it’s what Kwabi Amoah-Forson demonstrates almost every day of the week as he drives his “Peace Bus” around the South Sound, helping people struggling during the pandemic.

“Wherever there is a crisis, that’s where I am, delivering what is needed,” Amoah-Forson told KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula Show. “I think of it as local humanitarian aid.”

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About a year ago, Amoah-Forson decided he wanted to do his part to promote peace and love in his community. He was inspired by the late Israeli humanitarian, Avraham “Abie” Nathan, who flew his plane from Tel Aviv to Cairo, Egypt, in the ’60s, calling for peace between Arabs and Jews. With so much political divisiveness in the United States today, Amoah-Forson thought he could do something similar here, but quickly realized he could not afford flying lessons.

Enter the “Peace Bus.”

It’s a light blue, 1988 Mitsubishi van that looks similar to the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. Last year, he and some friends drove it to the U.S.-Mexico border to interview border patrol agents, trying to understand the situation there. The Peace Bus team has also done sock and blanket drives. These days, the van is filled with boxes of cereal.

Amoah-Forson said he read in the local newspaper that many kids in Tacoma were not getting breakfast, even though the schools are still trying to provide meals while they’re shut down. He delivers breakfast six days a week. He describes delivering cereal to a family in Parkland and seeing the kids at the window, jumping excitedly. Their mom broke down in tears and asked him why he was doing this.

“I can’t just talk about peace and love,” he said. “Peace is action!”

When he’s not in the Peace Bus, Amoah-Forson is a mental health counselor for Comprehensive Life Resources. He said many of his clients are already down and out.

“COVID-19 is exposing problems that have been permeating our community and around the country,” he said.

Studies show one in nine people in the Seattle area is experiencing poverty and one in six children in Washington is going hungry. Now, with the pandemic, he says even more people are dealing with anxiety and depression. They’re having to adapt to a new way of life and they really don’t know what is coming next. But Amoah-Forson encourages everyone to use this time to self-reflect.

“We’re in our homes and cut off from many distractions. … Give yourself time and space to have peace and reflection so that when this pandemic is over, you can move forward, positively,” he said.

Keep your high beams on

Amoah-Forson shared a letter he got from an 8-year-old boy named Luke. It reads: “Dear Kwabi, These are the things I’m doing to make peace. Not fighting, random acts of kindness, and sharing my feelings.” He says we can all learn from Luke.

Amoah-Forson said he has delivered breakfast to 170 families so far and over 700 boxes of cereal. If you want to donate to the Peace Bus Breakfast Fund, visit the GoFundMe page here.

To find out more about the Peace Bus or to see Kwabi in action, check him out on Facebook.

Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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