Barriers are meant to be broken; walls meant to be breeched; people meant to be brought together in peace and understanding.

That’s the goal of the Friendship Force and the worldwide organization that works to reach that goal through a travel exchange program active in more than 50 countries and involving more than 350 clubs on six continents.

“The idea is to change how one sees the world,” said Joe Phelan, a resident of Sun City Lincoln Hills and an active member of the Sacramento-area club, which includes members from Roseville, Granite Bay, Rocklin and Lincoln. His wife Rose is president of the Sacramento club, which currently numbers 109 people.

The Phelans have been involved with the Friendship Force since 1993 and have traveled extensively throughout the world, including a trip to Cuba five years ago.

The Friendship Force offers so much more than traveling with a tour group, according to Rose.

“You get a whole new perspective on the people and the culture,” she said.

Founded in 1977 during the Jimmy Carter administration by Wayne Smith, the Friendship Force originally involved groups of from 150-400 private citizens, traveling via chartered aircraft to a partner city, where a like group from that city would travel to the U.S. The visitors would stay for a week in private homes of their hosts, sharing everyday experiences and getting to know each other on a personal basis.

In 1982, travel arrangements changed to “one-way” exchanges, which allowed for greater flexibility and a reduction in group sizes to 20-25 people.

“It really changes how you see the world,” said Australian visitor Gayle MacReady, who with her husband Jim, was a recent guest in the Phelan home. “You see things in depth. The idea is to promote international peace. After all, one of the mottos is ‘Faces not Places.’”

The MacReadys are residents of Australia’s sunshine coast, north of Brisbane in Queensland.

Gayle MacReady, like Rose Phelan, is president of her local club and both women were in the real estate business. The MacReadys have been involved in the Friendship Force since 2004, after hearing from a friend of her “wonderful experiences.” After spending a week with the Phelans, they went to Portland, Ore., and then on to Montana.

“We’ve been to Japan, Ukraine, Belaryus and twice to the U.S.,” Jim MacReady said. The couple has also been to Peru and Brazil.

The two couples agreed that members travel the Friendship Force way “because you want to experience the culture.” Guests and hosts form fast friendships that last and the one-on-one exchanges give a true look into different cultures.

“We had a couple of days in Tokyo,” said Jim MacReady, “and called a family that we had previously met just to suggest we meet for dinner. They insisted that we stay with them while we were in Tokyo.

“(The impressions) we get about the U.S. come from television,” Jim MacReady said. The TV shows the violence, the shootings. It’s a completely misleading impression.”

Joe Phelan recalls a group from a club in Japan who for years were afraid to come to the U.S., believing everyone carried a gun.

“We finally got a small group to come over,” he said. “They came back the next year.”

Clubs do exchanges every year, said Joe, and visitors share their hosts’ homes usually for a week.

Members can go with their club or arrange to travel with another club, if there is space available.

“It’s really an honor to be accepted into people’s homes and to be included in their lives,” Gayle MacReady said.

To acquaint area would-be travelers with the organization, the Sacramento club is sponsoring The World Friendship Day festival from 1-3 p.m. Sept 14. The event will be at the Fair Oaks Community Clubhouse, 7997 California Ave. There will be cultural displays, video presentations, travel opportunities, international entertainment, food and conversations – all free, said Rose Phelan.

For details on the festival, contact Lynn Meyer at lgarrettmeyer@earthlink.net or by phone at 987-2426.on on The Friendship Force, visit www.thefriendshipforce.org.