The CEIP Virgen de la Soledad school once again demonstrated that greatness is not measured by the number of students, but by values. On January 30, 2026, the small school in Bolea, with just 20 children between the ages of 2 and 6th grade, celebrated the School Day of Non-Violence and Peace with a clear message: peace is built every day.
The date is not just another one on the center's calendar. It is part of the activities of the international Living Peace network, a project that promotes peace as a real and everyday practice, capable of educating, uniting, and transforming communities.
From that commitment was born one of the town's most recognizable symbols: the Giant Peace Dice. The sculpture, located in the park next to the church, has become a landmark for residents and visitors alike. So much so that the area is now popularly known as Peace Park.
On the School Day of Non-Violence and Peace, all the students went to Peace Park to experience a different kind of morning: cooperative and collaborative games around the Giant Peace Dice. It wasn't just about celebrating a special day, but about experiencing peace as a real way of relating to one another, helping each other, and living together.
Back in the classroom, the day took on a more reflective tone. Inspired by Unai Quirós's proposal, the students set out to find the "formula for peace." Through questions, dialogue, and active participation, they arrived at a conclusion as simple as it was powerful: peace is built with science, patience, and awareness; a recipe that, according to them, requires essential ingredients such as empathy, listening, respect, and, again, a great deal of patience.
During the day, a highly symbolic craft activity was also carried out. The students made small, colorful kites to hang on their backpacks, a simple gesture but with profound meaning: kites, capable of crossing invisible boundaries in the sky, represent universal peace, without borders.
The message is clear: just as a kite needs balance between the wind and the person holding the string, peace only takes flight when there is harmony between challenges and the human will to overcome them. In Afghanistan, where flying kites is an ancient tradition that was banned for years, they have now become a symbol of freedom and hope.
But the school wanted to go a step further and take its message of peace to the world. The idea then arose of contacting a school experiencing a difficult situation due to the war.
Thus began a relationship with a school in Afghanistan, also linked to Living Peace. Through letters and emails, a relationship full of respect, emotion, and closeness developed between the two schools. To support them, the students of Bolea decided to sell handmade bracelets and school t-shirts, raising 200 euros, which they sent with great enthusiasm. On February 3, 2026, the money arrived at its destination.
The Afghan school expressed their deep gratitude for the gesture and explained that they would be helping a school with more than 500 children, and that part of the aid would be discreetly allocated to support the education of girls, whose right to learn is not guaranteed there.
Beyond the financial aid, the most valuable thing has been the human connection created, the new friends, the shared words, and the certainty that peace is built with small, real gestures.
As one of the phrases that has accompanied this experience aptly states: "A single drop is not the sea, but without drops the sea would not exist."“
From Bolea, that sea of peace has already begun to grow.
