Peat says; "We were in a small village, playing on the school field (the only place cleared of mines etc), in the corner was the graves of slaughtered children. When we arrived the place had a depressive feel to it but now, due to the 100 or so children that were laughing, screaming and shouting with joy, the air buzzed with excitement. And that’s when I saw him He stood there staring at the laughing children with his hands stretched out palm up, as if in Muslim prayer. Tears of joy were rolling down his weathered old face, a face cracked by a big, big smile. He told me latter that he never thought he'd live to hear his grandchildren laugh again. He wasn't exaggerating or being melodramatic. He honestly thought that the children would never laugh again!!! It's strange to think that it took a genocidal war to teach me the true importance of laugher, but every year since then I've worked with children affected by conflict and/or crisis. < back to Aid Work