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PLEASE
HELP SAPE GET A NEW MIDDLE EAST PENPAL PROGRAM STARTED
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Pen Proves Mightier
Than Sword
For Penfriends
(The Indianapolis Star - Monday, February 10, 1992)
by Children's Express newswire service
Editors : Kristin Glazner (14), Bryan Moore (16)
Reporter : Phil Haun (14)
Friendships blossom among students from the former Soviet Union and the U.S. as they exchange letters, thoughts.
Letters are piled from the ceiling to the floor. Furniture is nowhere in sight. The authors of the letters are not asking for an autograph but for a penpal. This is Michele Cervoni's weekly challenge - finding pen pals for writers from the former Soviet Union or the United States.
Cervoni, a 30 year-old New York City resident, is founder and organizer of the Soviet-American Penfriend Exchange (SAPE). "I run the Soviet-American Penfriend Exchange with my own Soviet penfriend that I've been writing to for about 10 years," Cervoni told Children's Express in a telephone interview. "Her name is Marina and she lives in Chelyabinsk, and we spread the word about our organization."
"Before I had a pen pal over there," Cervoni admitted, "I believed what everybody else believed: that these were our worst enemies ... After I got the first letter from this girl over there I couldn't ever imagine going to war."
When Marina and Cervoni started corresponding, politics affected their dream of starting an organization that would bring the two countries together. "When we started writing, Mr. Gorbachev hadn't come into power yet, and we always wanted to do something like this: but we never thought we could," Cervoni said. "Then with glasnost and perestroika, we just decided to give it a shot."
In 1989, the two
penpals matched up a fifth-grade class in the former Soviet Union with a
fifth-grade class in the United States. After the classes started corresponding,
Cervoni began writing to Soviet and American
magazines to let them know about the pen pal program. [After publication
of the first letter in a Soviet newspaper] she received more than 3,000 letters
in a 5 day period.
This avalanche of letters was the birth of SAPE, an organization that has changed people's ideas about each other all over the world. the letters also helped Children's Express learn about these pen pal relationships. With Cervoni's help, we contacted several young people and their teachers about their experiences.
"I never really knew a Soviet before, so they seemed a little mystical to me," wrote Jenni Borden, a 16 year-old pen pal from Rochester, New York. "Now, I know that regardless of the place or government system, we still are kids experiencing the same difficulties in school and life."
Jenni's feelings are shared by all the pen pals who responded to Children's Express. "The program of SAPE changed my views of the United States!" 13 year-old Gene Shichkov of Vladivostok, Russia wrote in a letter to children's Express. "Our old films and newspapers told about a treachery and a cruelty of Americans. But I understood that it is an untruth."
"We have a truthful information now from Soviet TV and newspapers. My correspondence with U.S. boys and girls helps me to understand their life better," Gene wrote.
Polina Zhampozova, a teacher in Kazakstan whose entire school has participated in the pen pal program, told us, "These letters from America help us to live our difficult life. They give us hope, that our life may change for the better. We know that American people do not want war, too, like our people."
Ages of the pen pals range from 4 to 80, but most are teen-agers. Cervoni matches up pen pals on a computer, based on ages, the languages they speak, and whether they prefer to correspond with a boy or a girl.
"They exchange addresses and, hopefully, they become friends," she said. "I usually tell them to avoid talking about politics until their second or third letter ... (so) they can get an idea of what their pen pal is like."
"It's like a labor of love for me and I really like doing it; and, to be honest, (teachers) are all doing their part over there because they write and say, 'How can we help you more?' I just tell them to just speak to other schools in your area or contact the newspaper, that's help enough," Cervoni said.
"Believe me, it's snowballing over there," she added. "I've matched up about 6,000 pairs of pen pals. Since April, I've gotten more than 20,000 letters, so (now) I've got 20,000 (more) Russians that are waiting for American pen pals."
One of the reasons for the enthusiasm seems to be a desire to learn about Americans ... "About three or four months ago they started airing the MTV countdown over there and they started seeing American movies and TV shows," Cervoni said. "They want to know what we're wearing, what movies we watch."
U.S. pen pals have similar enthusiasm for the program. "My most interesting experience was coming home from school one day and having the mailman walk to my door," wrote Jenni. "He held a package in his hands. In it was a huge Soviet flag. The flag now hangs on the ceiling above my bed, so I can see it each morning when I open my eyes. I begin each day thinking about how fortunate I am to have such wonderful friends."
(Webmaster's note: The age range of penpals listed above was a reflection of our database when this article was published in 1992. These very young penpals were matched up long ago and the age requirement for SAPE participation is now "10 or older". The age range of our database is approximately 10-40 at this time.)
The following is a letter that Jenni Borden (interviewed in the above article) wrote on our behalf:
November 4, 1994
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing this letter on behalf of Michele Cervoni and the SAPE program. I am currently a sophomore at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. When I was in 9th grade, I first wrote to SAPE for a penpal. I had already been writing to a young man in Moscow for about a year and was extremely excited about international correspondence.
This started my friendship with Lena Kibireva. She was a girl my age who lived on the east coast of what was then the Soviet Union. I must admit that we had some trouble understanding each other's English at times but it never daunted us. She taught me some Russian phrases and we exchanged views of our own cultures. We even managed to send some gifts at Christmas time. To this day, Lens's gift is hanging from my mirror in my room so she is never far from my thoughts. Our correspondence has settled down to letters now and then to keep track of each other, as we have both grown older and busier, but we formed a friendship and that is something that can never be taken away from us.
Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to travel to meet my penpal, but I will never give up my hopes and dreams and I believe that someday I will meet her face-to-face and embrace that person I have known for so many years through her words.
But SAPE is not only the people it brings you into contact with. It is a reflection of the care and interest of Michele. Not only did Michele give me an address, but she gave me helpful hints about how best to make sure my mail would arrive. There were many insights that she offered ... remember I began writing my first letters before the Soviet Union broke up into pieces and letters took about a month each way to get through. I also had questions about sending a videotape to the USSR. Michele never failed to promptly (and cheerfully!) answer my questions. That really means a lot when you are trying to learn about a culture across an ocean that is just briefly touched upon in school.
It is fun to "talk" to people who love the same things as you but have different experiences to share. There is so much knowledge that can be gained from friendships through the mail. It is an opportunity that should not be passed by and I have complete confidence in Michele's ability to provide you with those writers across the ocean with enthusiasm to match your own.
Best of luck in
forming new friendships,
Jenni Borden
SAPE, P.O. Box 319, Monroe, CT 06468-0319, USA