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PeaceJam's Rudy Balles! |
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posted 2/17/2010 at 8:30 PM by Bradlee A |
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Rudy Balles grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, a city plagued with gang activity and violence. By the time Rudy was 14, his stepfather, biological father, and granfather had died and his mother abandoned him and his younger siblings. He turned to gangs for a sense of belonging and quickly embraced the gangbanger lifestyle - drugs, parties, and violence.
Eddie Montour, Director of El Centro del Quinto Sol, saw Rudy's potential as a leader and encouraged him to participate in the local youth center's Peace Harmony and Dignity program and learn about the PeaceJam Program. At his first PeaceJam even, Rudy met 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum. "She still had the integrity to work for nonviolence, which humbled me," says Rudy.
In 2000, Rudy left the gang and moved to Denver to serve as director of Colorado's Gang Rescue and Support Project from 2000-2007. In 2007, Rudy was chosen as one of twenty Emerging Leaders through the national Service-Learning Emerging Leaders Initiative. Rudy has been instrumental in designing the PeaceJam Juvenile Justice curriculum, is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and has been involved in PeaceJam for the past 11 years. |
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