By Bill Magargal

Most Servas members know that we consider ourselves a peace organization, but what does that really mean? As a group we do not organize protests or rallies, we don’t travel to trouble spots to provide witness or relief, nor do we engage with policymakers and power brokers to mediate peace. So, how does Servas contribute to world peace?

Well, let’s look at our catchphrase –Promoting peace and understanding through travel and hosting, one conversation at a time. What does that really mean? Is it simply a slogan to make us feel good about being thrifty travelers? Perhaps for some, but I believe it is more. To me, the phrase is a symbol of what a typical Servas host or traveler is about… that we are a world community of people with humility who share certain core values of egalitarianism, peace, care for our planet and its creatures, and connectedness of it all.

This shared ethos is why meeting a new Servas traveler feels like running into an old friend you haven’t seen in a while… the connectedness, the shared experiences, the realness. This is why I am not surprised when I travel to a remote Italian village and I am welcomed into an extended family dinner being prepared by many, including two young Egyptian male refugees the family is fostering for two years so they can attend a school for diesel mechanics. This is why I feel a bit of pride when I share that I am a friend of a member who hikes out into the hot Sonoran Desert to provide water and medical supplies to people attempting to cross it. This is why I feel hope for the future when members give their time and money to volunteer at a Peace School in Uganda or Türkiye.

So, it really isn’t about the number of countries we’ve visited, nor sights we’ve seen. It is indeed about building and strengthening a world-wide network of individuals committed to shared ideals of living at peace with ourselves, with others, and with our planet. As a follow-up to this article you might enjoy reading the Peace Statement for a world without war adopted by the Servas Executive Committee this year.