(Minghui.org) This is the second time that “Petals of Peace” have bloomed in the small village of Nossa Senhora de Machede, a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Évora in the Alentejo region.

The project “Petals of Peace” is a special, free activity appropriate for people of all ages in activity centers, nursing homes, schools, and different festivities and communities. It involves learning how to make a lotus flower out of paper, as a gesture of peace and friendship for less fortunate children.

Sonia Balicha invited the practitioners on August 9, 2021, to do this project with the children in the “Summer Workshops.”

The kids who participated in the workshop were very interested. They understood the importance of the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, made a paper lotus flower, and were interested in the story of the “Petals of Peace” project.

Children learn how to make origami lotus flowers 

When the flowers are completed, the children can take them home or hang them in their parents’ car as a talisman for good luck. It is said that when a person assimilates to the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, he or she will always be protected and helped.

Lotus flowers 

The handmade lotus flowers are the symbols of the “Petals of Peace” that bloom amid our community and around the world!

Children with their lotus flowers 

How the “Petals of Peace” Project Came About 

The “Petals of Peace” project was born from the true story of a little girl of Chinese origin named Fadu.

Fadu and her mother, Jane Dai, were able to overcome their own suffering by thinking of others. They chose to share their painful experience in the hope that other innocent children will not have to suffer as little Fadu did.

Fadu’s family practiced Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) which is a traditional Chinese practice that is based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. It includes simple exercises and a meditation, and can significantly improve one’s health and well-being. This practice was banned by the totalitarian regime in China in July 1999.

Fadu (center) with her parents 

Shortly after the persecution of Falun Gong began in China, Fadu’s father was killed by the Chinese authorities. At the time, Fadu was only three years old.