D&P Benefit Gala – Calgary

by Fanny Magnificat:

As I walked in the hall of St. Luke’s Catholic Church, the buzzing and the moving of the people was a blessing as I looked around. So many guests were there and sat. On the microphone was one of the most energetic emcee I’ve encountered so far. She introduced Development and Peace with the simplicity of someone who desires to get the message across to a child.

I was in for a surprise as the evening slowly unfolded; I thought I knew what Development and Peace is about, but I got dunked as the educational videos began to play throughout the evening in between the performances.

Then I wondered and pondered: “Seriously Fanny, up to now what did you know?” It took that evening to radically get me back on track and appreciate another wealthy area of the church. Up to this point, I knew about the donations we make to support, the presence of that ministry at some point in parish, the Lenten campaign but I faced the sad but true reality; I did not start going deeper until this semester when I was driven to interview Ms. Jana Drapal, who then informed me about the time for the Gala. Our beloved Lord has ways to show us the ultimate Way to His work among his flock. Education wise that night, I must congratulate the whole team for bringing back on a regular basis on why we were there. Today in my words, I may say that Development and Peace is the Catholic Organization that is truly showing the Love of Christ in actions through the partners the Lord has blessed her to work, and all her members within all the lands it has established itself. That is the Gospel in motion.

 Yet the evening, the gala night, did not resume only itself to the educational videos, it represented talents from all continents where Development and Peace is involved; it ranged from Asia to Africa and from the Oceania to America not forgetting we had a European touch with the presence of the Polish Dance. Performances were outstanding, the DJ was outstanding, all those who volunteered and brought a dish, the organization was second to none. Our good Lord could not have made this evening any better as it ended with free salsa lessons. What about the restaurants that donated dishes. The night even featured a little auction dance time. Our beloved emcee offered to volunteer her dancing skill to a Salsa tune if we could raise altogether $100 in donation. It was instantly offered by a gentleman, the stakes were then raised to $300. Target was reached, and the promise fulfilled; she danced to a wonderful salsa song with the DJ, who happened to be an expert when it comes to latin dance. As a matter of fact, he performed that evening thus promoting his dance school. 

My blessed friends, what to say, if not to confirm that as people joined from all walks to be together that night, the Holy Trinity acted to show the beauty of the Catholic Church in action through Development & Peace. For me personally, it was a night of fellowship, education, testimony, simplicity, the making of new friends in Christ from other Christian families; I met a wonderful lady from the Coptic Church who had come to support us, and what development & peace does that night. This for me definitely falls under the new evangelization.

At last but not least, from performing on stage I joyfully accepted to no longer be a distant member, but to truly embrace as a Catholic Christian Artist, the call to be an ambassador of Development & Peace. For those who’ve been praying for God to raise more labourers for the harvest, carry on. I entrust myself to your prayers and all the members of Development & Peace that the Holy Trinity may move many of us to never get tired to work in spreading the Good News through our thoughts, words and deeds. As Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes more and more the missionary call of every Catholic, let us rise in supporting Development and Peace by showing every day in our life, in our workplace, in our neighbourhood the grace and uniqueness of being a Catholic in Action. Let us more than ever be a voice for the voiceless, the hands of Christ in the world, His yes. Let us be willing to go wherever He sends us. More and more are needed lay people who are willing to take the Good News to others just like our heavenly mother Mary has taken Christ to Elizabeth. As Catholic Christians, it is our duty more than ever to grow more and more curious about our faith in order to share with our brothers and sisters in Christ from the other Christian families. We are called to be the Trinitarian missionaries of the 21^st Century.

I kindly thank the Development and Peace team for giving me the opportunity to share what I’ve been blessed with at the Gala night.

Day of Indigenous Solidarity June 20th

Day of Solidarity – June 20th in support of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Kairos: Suicide rates among Indigenous youth between 15 and 24 years are five to six times higher than the national average. For Inuit youth in particular, it’s 11 times higher. Suicide accounts for 25% of all deaths among Indigenous youth (Health Canada).

When confronted with such despair, it’s easy to feel hopeless and helpless. Becoming aware of the legacy of colonization is not easy. We may feel ashamed of the inequality that divides Indigenous peoples of Canada—First Nations, Inuit and Métis—from other Canadians. We are challenged to recognize how governments and corporations have failed to honour the rights to the land and self-determination of Canada’s first inhabitants. 

Yet these realities don’t have the last word. Together, whether Indigenous or newcomers, we seek to heal and renew the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people because we know that what causes harm, inequality and injustice cannot be of God.Together, we find signs of hope and we dare to dream the promise of right relationship.

In November 2010, the Government of Canada’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples represented a step towards right relation with Indigenous peoples in Canada. KAIROS and our member churches have long called for Canada’s endorsement of this important global human rights standard.

On June 20 KAIROS member churches, communities and Indigenous partners will join in a Day of Solidarity urging Canada to take concrete steps, in collaboration with Indigenous peoples, to implement the UN Declaration. We will bring banners to Ottawa calling for the human rights of Indigenous peoples to be respected. This is followed by National Aboriginal Day on June 21, which offers many opportunities to celebrate the contributions of Indigenous peoples to the history and present of our country.

We ask you support these events with your presence and your prayers. Hold in prayer our common hopes for a just future, together in this beautiful land. And bring those prayers to action in your faith community and home.

PRAYER

One: God of all people, Great Spirit, Holy One
All: Listen to our prayer.
One: Give your blessing this day to the First Peoples of this land. 
All: Guide the elders and give them strength;
One: Comfort and renew men and women in times of sorrow and despair,
All: Give grace and pride to children as the daughters and sons of your creation.
One: Hear our prayer as we gather today to commit to right relations. 
All: Give us a sense of justice, an awareness of new beginnings, that wrongs may be redressed, rights respected and a new covenant forged. 
One: May those who have used this land with little thought or regard learn to love and respect this gracious heritage;
All: May those who find your presence in the land be free to model its grateful use to all.
One: In common life and common dignity…
All: May all people receive from you a new humanity. Amen.

FIVE THINGS YOU AND YOUR COMMUNITY CAN DO:

Build relationships. Learn whose traditional territory you live and work on, and learn about your local treaty or treaty negotiations. Get to know your local First Nations, Inuit or Métis community. Contact your Friendship Centre; attend public powwows, Treaty Days or ceremonies. Connect with your denomination’s right relationship networks.

Learn. Learn more about the Canadian history we’re not taught in school. Host a KAIROS workshop on this: contact us at workshops@kairoscanada.org.  Learn about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the reality of residential schools, even if your denomination was not involved in running the schools. Go to TRC hearings; learn more about local survivors’ groups. Learn about the Indigenous membership and perspectives of your own faith tradition.

Work for an end to violence against Indigenous women, who face a rate of violence many times higher than in the general population. Support vigils in your community, and support the work of groups like Families of Sisters in Spirit, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Walk 4 Justice, and more.

Go global. Learn about the UN Declaration and the worldwide concerns and movement that brought it to birth after thirty years of work. Reflect on the struggles that made the Declaration necessary, and think about how to put into action here in Canada.

KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives is a faithful movement for human rights and ecological justice, uniting the local and the global.

Our founding members are: The Anglican Church of Canada, the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Canadian Religious Conference, the Mennonite Central Committee of Canada, and the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF).

More information: www.kairoscanada.org or info@kairoscanada.org

D and P Makes a Difference!

This week is D and P Makes a Difference week!  March 10 – March 20 is your chance to make a difference with Development and Peace.

This special week is an initiative of D & P with the Canadian Catholic Student Assocation – and there are events across the country!

• Vancouver, Corpus Christi and St. Mark’s College at UBC: THINKfast on March 26‐27
• Victoria, University of Victoria: UVic THINKfast on March 12th
• Edmonton, St. Joseph’s College: Launch of Share Lent campaign by Development and Peace on March 19‐20
• Regina, Campion College:  Bottled Water Free Day on March 10 AND 
• Regina, Campion College: THINKfast on March 13th
• Saskatoon, St. Thomas More College:  St. Patrick’s Day pub sponsored by the D and P Just Youth group on March 17th
• Winnipeg, St. Paul’s College @ University of Manitoba:  THINKfast on March 11th
• London, King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario:  Social Justice Coffee House by King’s Development and Peace Group on March 15^th
• Ottawa, Carleton University:  THINKfast & Opening Prayer with Saint Paul’s University on March 11‐12th
• Ottawa, Carleton University: Development and Peace table Bottled Water Free Zone on March 15th
• Ottawa, Université Saint‐Paul/Saint Paul University:  Opening Liturgy co‐led with Carleton University RCC followed by THINKfast on March 11th
• Toronto, University of St. Michael’s College: Bottled Water Free campaign throughout the week
• Waterloo, St. Jerome’s University: Bottle Water Free Day on March 10th
• Fredericton, St. Thomas University: Development and Peace lecture on March 21st
• Fredericton, St. Thomas University: THINKfast on March 19th
• Charlottetown UPEI: Bottled Water Free Day on March 10

For more info on these events and contacts so you can join them, check out the Catholic Students Week listing on the CCSA website.

Article in the Catholic Register March 23, 2011!

Nelson Youth Justice Rally

Word from the Nelson Youth Justice Rally – February 25, 26 & 27, 2011

The Nelson Youth Rally rocked, shocked, and stirred us all weekend, galvanizing everyone into agents of social action in Nelson and the wider world.

Little did I know what was waiting for me when I set out from Victoria on a snowy Thursday morning to begin the epic journey to Nelson through oceans, mountains, and a multitude of Dairy Queens. Smooth traveling is often preferred, but a total absence of friction on ice-covered roads is a step too far. My intrepid travel companion, Julia, and myself gritted our teeth and slid over the many passes (with names such as “Anarchist” to sooth the nerves!) before descending in ecstatic relief into the little mountain town of Nelson.

The arctic winds were still blowing when the busload (and extra van required en route for overspill) of high school students arrived at St Jo’s school, Nelson, late on Friday. The delays and looks of bus-induced fatigue showed that they suffered in the smae fate on the roads.

However, undeterred, the rally began and energy levels bounced back with the start of Penticton’s finest worship band leading us in high-energy, fist pumping, song and dance. We launched straight into the rally’s theme of “Water for all – Let justice flow!” with an improvised skit, ‘Out of Order’, that was as funny as it was disorganized.

Yet, there was no missing the obvious points made about our perceptions of bottled water – clean, attractive, and convenient – and the contrasting reality – unregulated, unsustainable, and exploitative. Armed with our shiny new re-useable aluminum water bottles, we all returned to our respective territories on classroom floors for a refreshing sleep.

The following morning, a volunteer awoke me by prying the table, which I had taken refuge under for the night, from my grasp. The shock was hers when she found me curled under it, but negotiations over its imminent use for breakfast convinced me to it let go. Semi awake, but well fed, we got organized for the day’s mission: a citywide bottle drive to raise money for the local food bank.

As we set off in our groups, it soon became apparent that serious endurance was required to deal with the pain of freezing extremities and avoid hypothermia in the -15 degree winds. But the effort was well worth it. People greeted us warmly, fully backed our campaign to go “back to the tap,” and heaped empty cans and bottles on our backs so that we ended up shuffling through the snow looking like Sherpas.

The result… over $550 raised for the food bank and 80 participants delighted to defrost and refuel once back indoors.

Later that afternoon we were transformed into little communities spread across lush fields and desert plains in order to simulate the challenges faced in the equitable distribution of water.

Poor families in “Desertia” ended up with high debts, illness, death and still faced water shortages, while others in “Watopia,” by virtue of their good fortune of being located amidst plenty of water, accumulated more wealth and water than they needed. Hearing the different families share their experiences afterwards brought home how complex it can be share equitably, even when everyone is doing their best.

The day ended with a closer look at what Development and Peace is – a member-led international development organization founded by the Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops – and how it tries to address challenges, such as those we encountered in our simulation game, through fundraising and education in Canada in order to support partners in the Global South who promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures.

We also heard some personal stories from the leaders about their journeys into social justice activity. Juilio even rocked the house with his freestyle rap!

Before heading back home, after an eventful and thought provoking weekend, we considered how we could bring the ideas and action experienced in Nelson back to our own communities, i.e. how to share the love?!

Without going into details, the journey home for poor Julia and I made the one to Nelson seem like a Sunday afternoon stroll on a sunny day. I am still thanking God that we survived! But on reflection, there is nothing I would rather risk my life for, than quality time with great friends, working to alleviate poverty any way, big or small, and the sense of fun and fullness that is still lasting today.

A BIG shout out to everyone there, all who organized it, and you for checking this out! Peace.

Jacques St. Laurent, Victoria BC

Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, this year, International Women’s Day is 100 years old!

Here is a flashback to what it was like in…

1911

More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic ‘Triangle Fire’ in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women’s Day events. 1911 also saw women’s ‘Bread and Roses‘ campaign.

1913-1914

On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women’s Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Wommen’s Day ever since. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women’s solidarity.

excerpts from http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

At Development and Peace

Partner Profile: Afghan Women’s Resource Centre (AWRC)

The AWRC is an organization that uses microcredit to help Afghan women start small businesses and generate revenues so that they may fight their way out of poverty.

For Pary Gul, 30, the AWRC has changed her life and that of her family. She lives with her husband, their four children as well as her mother. With so many people to support, the family simply could not meet its basic needs.

Thanks to a loan of 5,000 afghanis (about $120.00) from the AWRC, Pary was able to buy a small bread oven and firewood and start baking dough brought to her by the community’s other women. After two months, Pary started preparing regional dishes (sambosa, manto and bolani) and baking her own bread in a traditional Afghan clay oven called a tanor, while her husband busied himself selling the bread. Through monthly payments, she managed to repay her loan quickly while providing for her family.

for more on our programs in Afghanistan: http://www.devp.org/devpme/eng/international/afghanistan-eng.html

Today let’s give thanks for, and celebrate, the strength and wisdom of women — sisters around the world who are working with their families and communities, in peace and with justice, to bring about God’s reign on earth!

by Genevieve Gallant

RESPONSIBLE MINING – what next?

All our members, young or older, are deeply disappointed, as well as our partners in the Global South, who really welcomed Bill C-300 on responsible mining and corporate social accountability. For years, we have listened to their stories about how Canadian mining companies are taking over their land, polluting their water sources, destroying their environment, and often without consulting the affected communities or listening to their concerns.

So, what next? Where do we go from here?

One thing that has inspired me about this crucial campaign is the way we have finally had the real-life stories told in the media. The week leading up to the vote was flooded with news about corporate social accountability. Google Bill c300 and you will see what I mean!

Before I mention next steps in advocacy, I want to share with you some great relfections and analysis.

Open letters to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff (Digital Journal) 

Big hole in mine control: MP no-shows play politics with bill to protect poor countries from Canuck eco crimes (NOW magazine)

Philippines Solidarity Trip

REFLECTIONS…

Throughout our Solidarity Trip I was often asked “Who was your favourite partner we visited with?” 

I always had a difficult time answering this question because I could not choose, and did not want to.  Our partners share a common thread in that they are involved in creating change and developing a better Philippines.  They each approach this through different means (which you have become familiar with throughout our blog), and in doing so, address different struggles that Filipinos are faced with.

From seeing how our partners have been active in the Philippines, I feel proud that I am a part of an organization that supports home-based organizations.  Development and Peace has done an excellent job in creating solidarity with partners who can stand on their own, and are building the movement of Asian development so that Filipinos themselves, can stand on their own. That, would be my answer to the question.

I was asked about how my understanding of SOLIDARITY has grown…

This opportunity to “be in solidarity” is allowing me to bridge the gap between Canadians and Filipinos.  The kind of knowledge I have gained is intended to be shared, and because it came from people who will continue to act for change after we have returned to Canada, the sharing of it must continue.

That is what we, as Canadians, can do for those we share this world with.

I have enough moments from this solidarity experience to fill two notebooks, but this is one that had a very deep effect on me:

The Hardest Moment…

The first two months of this summer I was taking sociology courses for my program at the University of Victoria.  In June we discussed “global stratification” and how social inequality exists in the world – poverty and low income were themes.  The opening photo of our chapter was of a boy who lived and worked in one of Manila’s garbage dumps, Smokey Mountain.  Even then I struggled with the realization that the kind of society and family you are born into determines much about the life you may end up leading.

If my parents had not immigrated to the Canada and I had been born in the Philippines, how would I be living right now?  How do some of my family members in the Phiilippines live in relation to this boy?  Does this child know that his image is being studied by Canadian university students?

At the time, I did not know that two months later I would be standing in his home, in his place of work.  And when I was, the reality of how different our lives are was so heavy.  It was as thick as the Manila air (filled with the humidity and the coal fumes) that I was breathing.

An elderly man was singing “We are the world, we are the children” before we boarded the jeepney to depart.  It was a very audible contrast to what I was seeing visually, but it reminded me that: yes, although my world may be very different, this is theirs.  And after our time at Smokey Mountain with our partner, Urban Poor Associates, I know that the residents have been able to build a community with whatever they have.

Katrina Laquian

Philippines Solidarity Trip – Baseco

August 13^th 2010 – Baseco Barangay, Manila

For the past 24 hours we have been with the community of Baseco, hosted by the Kabilikat community group, who are allied with our partners – the Urban Poor Associates in Manila.

After spending the night and having breakfast with our host families in Baseco the group reconnected in the morning at the Kabilikat offices.

Time to take our fourth mode of transportation – ’ tricycles’ (motorbikes with side cars)! Squeezing fourteen people on to 4 trikes was a challenge but not a problem.

We appreciated the trickiness of local travel considering what we have learned about transportation costs here and how it relates to the tribulations of the job-seekers of the urban poor in Manila.

We visited 3 urban poor communities  and learned about their different struggles – the threat of eviction, the unsafe conditions (like living on the side of a large speedway), floods and fires, lack of services (like clean water, or sewage systems) and the constant struggle to find work. Under all these threats, the people have come together to organize themselves, to advocate for their needs and to request their municipal leaders to provide services to the urban poor communities. This kind of organizing happens all over the world – it’s each of our jobs to remind our elected officials of their responsabilities to the people.

After the noisiest meeting in front of one of the houses on the side of the busy highway, we left by jeepney for the next community we were visiting. I heard Marlon, a Community Organizer from UPA, say that the next place was the worst place to live in Manila. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The South Port is the garbage dump of Manila, where all of the garbage from the city arrives. From the port nearbly, the garbage is loaded onto boats and taken somewhere else. No one could tell me where the garbage goes. Walking into the site was intimidating, where we were about to see some of the most shocking poverty. How do you prepare yourself for that? I started by putting on my rubber boots.

From the moment we arrived we were walking on garbage and when we weren’t, we were walking through mud. We were one of the few people in the community with shoes on. Marlon tried to have us walk through the actual dumpsite but the leader of the families did not think it was safe. The garbage acts as fill, so that the people can build housing on land that is regularly swamped by water.

The people build their houses out of the discarded materials and make a livelihood out of converting wood into charcoal and by recycling plastic water bottles, a kilo at a time. Collecting a kilo of plastic water bottles brings about $0.50 Canadian. That’s a lot of plastic bottles.

The conditions in which these 1,000 families live would not be passable in North America. The smoke from the charcoal production hung above the site, and after walking for an hour I tried to re-apply my sunscreen but I was so covered in dirt that I ended up just rubbing dirt around on my arms and legs. In that moment I hated the part of me that wanted to go back to our hotel, shower and nap in the air-conditioned and clean room.

The big difference between the urban poor communities we met in Baseco and South Port  -  the people of Baseco have basic housing but no income to meet their needs, there are not enough jobs, even garbage collecting. The people of South Port  have a steady source of income but terrible housing conditions. I can’t imagine how the people coming to Manila from the different regions choose -dangerous work or dangerous housing? You leave your home for the dream that there might be work in Manila.

On this trip we are learning that there is no single cause of poverty. You can’t say the urban centres are rich and the rural people are poor, or vice-versa. It’s complicated. We are also seeing the amazing work of our guides – the Community Organizers, like Marlon, and how crucial it is to support the efforts of the urban poor communities.

Gillian Murphy

Philippines Solidarity Trip – Building Family

Building Family in the Philippines – Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs)

Our days with NASSA (Caritas Philippines) took us from north of Manila (where we visited the demonstration farm at Nueva Ecija and Misereor Village)  to southeast of Manila, to all over the Bicol Region.

When I look back at our first full day in the Bicol region (August 16^th), I am still overwhelmed by how much we participated in that day.  By the end of that day we had visited four communities, traveled by jeepney (colourful, community bus) and railroad trolley, and connected with several leaders and community members we now call friends.

Our second community visit that day was to Camagong Cabusao in Camarines Sur.  Here we were welcomed as the “Canadian Team” to a Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC).   The BEC is one of NASSA’s programs that organizes parishes into smaller groups, with the purpose of giving the community a sense of family.  Each BEC has programs for health, farming, faith, and more.  The BEC of Camagong has 15-20 smaller groups/families that they call “clusters”.  Each cluster has a “cluster leader” with many helpers. 

When we arrived at this “barangay” (community) everyone was at the entrance shaking our hands as we entered their main building.  One cluster leader expressed that they were happy to be chosen to have us visit: “We open our hearts and arms to you.”

A different cluster leader educated us on what kind of programs the BEC has established:

• a communal garden that allows members to practice the Filipino “bayanihan” (everyone working together).
• monthly faith activities:  for example - in April, they have the procession of a patron saint that is brought to each house for prayer and adoration.  In keeping with building a sense of family in the community, they ensure that the saints are always brought to the house AND fields of the farmers, as they are always busy with their work.
• “self-help groups” that include a livestock project.

We were invited to walk around the barangay and “enjoy strolling with them under the heat of the sun.”  I had not taken this literally and have never felt so welcomed by a group of people.  Everyone walked with us along the road to where we would plant rice.  We were no longer their visitors – this was what being a part of their “family” was about.

Under the shade of her umbrella, one cluster leader said to me as I looked around:  “This is how abundant we are at this barangay.  Anyone who needs something…all they have to do is knock on someone’s door.”  She asked me why we were there, and I explained the work of Development and Peace and our roles as participants on the solidarity experience.  From my reply, she said: “You’ve met the cluster leaders here and now you will be the cluster leaders when you are home.  Share our story.”

At the BEC, not only did I learn about how NASSA helps parishes apply activities that foster total human development, I also learned about how families can be.  The sense of family that BECs have achieved seems to have connections that run deeper than blood relations.  I am more grateful now that I have been able to experience a form of this with the Filipino community I grew up in in Ontario.

The community sang “for he’s a jolly good fellow” to us before our departure and ended it with Connie Francis:

“Good luck, good health, God bless you, and guide you on their way…”  I wish the same for our friends and mentors at Camagong.

Katrina Laquian

Philippines Solidarity Trip – Life in the GK Village

Wow – It’s so hard to keep track of the days now.  The trip has been an amazing experience so far.  Today we are with NASSA and in the diocese of Libaman.

Last night we stayed in a GAWAD KALINGA Village – What a moving experience!   When we entered the community hall after having shared a beautiful meal with the leaders, the children of the community came running to us and took our hands and touched them to their foreheads.  This is a sign of respect in the culture here in the Philippines to do this to people who are older then you.  The evening commenced like many others with speeches and warm welcomes, but then the solidarity truly began.  There was much music and dance, with people of every age.  The cultural numbers they had prepared were out of this world and the talent was like nothing I’ve seen before.  

The night ended with all participants going to host families to experience life with the locals. I stayed with a family whose father works with the vegetable garden as a part of his livelihood.  The welcoming feeling and hospitality was great, but it wasn’t until the next morning that I got a feeling that I never got before.  The father and I went for a walk through the community and he explained it all to me, from the beginning until the point they have currently reached.  He introduced me to every neighbor and told me the story of the community being built.  He told me about a line of a hundred people that passed the blocks to build the homes.  He also could not stop from continuing to thank me for honoring him and visiting his humble abode. 

He took me to the gardens where he works and makes his livelihood.  He explained that each family has a section of donated land that they each plant stuff in. He was especially proud pointing out his spot – so I made sure to capture the moment and the smile on his face.  We walked to where the pigs and chickens are kept.  He explained to me about the organic farming they do.  He showed me the chickens and explained that they are separated out and taken care of by groups.  Specifically divided into 5 groups of which he is in group three and he therefore takes his turn on Thursdays to maintain them. 

We walked in silence some of the way, but he kept turning back and smiling at me, sometimes continuing to say thank you so much for coming.  It was not long after that we had to prepare to leave the GK Village, but the memories they made for us with their wonderful welcoming hospitality is something that will last a lifetime.  The visit may have had to come to an end, but a future partnership of solidarity is sure to be shared for a lifetime!

Scotty Joe Smith