AndreaKaySmith

Andrea Kay Smith (AKS) is a Midwestern American by birth, Protestant by religion, middle class by lineage, educated @ MSU & Georgia State and survivor of a birth defect; emerging as a dedicated peaceworker in service to humanity. Back when she married a high school sweetheart, AKS had to focus on a new baby and working full time to aid her husband in graduating from college. Race riots in Detroit in 1967 changed her course. With young son in tow, she followed a path around the U.S. through many moves and many states to land, sight unseen, knowing no one, in prosperous Atlanta, Georgia USA, May 1973. Based on the role model of her parents, she has a long trail of community service in her neighborhod and spiritual groups. A common thread occurs through all her commitments of peace and justice. Partnerships In Peace, A Planetary Consortium founded in l985, is a vehicle for AKS to offer many activities and educational experiences from the local level to the global. In addition to the projects mentioned above, she received a recycled l977 Toyota and turned it into a Peace Mobile art car which is used for the neighborhood projects and won an award from DeKalb County for recycling (see Photos). She created the Peace Center after a long arduous process of revitalization with the help of hundreds of volunteers from all over the U.S. The grounds of the Peace Center have turned into a gardener's delight as she has coordinated donations and plant rescue since 1999, creating labyrinth trails, meditation areas and wildlife santuary. (See Projects: Gardens) Expanding beyond the property, curb gardens now exist all around the Swazey/Summit Neighborhod. AKS demonstrates that we can live in harmony with the environment by recycling, composting and creating artistic creations of beauty. Voluntary simplicity and mindfulness are her tools. Her life is a celebration of love, joy and service. "May Peace Prevail on Earth."