holistichelping : Message: Re: [holistichelping] John Dada: Fantsuam has terrific women's/ICTs programs (input for grant?)/peace and Includer links?/Thanks Andrius!

Janet, Andrius and all,

As I read about aiming the empowerment of the proposal toward the women, I am wondering if could take on the approach of Health-Education-Correction at the heart of the application.

The 3 can be joined as one social policy designed to link the individual and the community in the training of decision-making.

Democracy is the wisdom of agreeing as equals, for the utmost benefit to all.

Leadership of this kind needs to get consolidated by cultivating decision making from home to school, to work, at play and back home by a participation in the Spirit Who teaches that the greatest in our midst are the servants of the others.

Conflict resolution and peaceful political renewal is then possible, because the changes are decided by the people, in accordance to their needs locally.

Such empowerment could be the means by which to convey the message that democracy is a way of life, applicable and needed in every decsion that affect more than one person.

Democratic maturity is found in the simplicity of deciding with care and of doing with complete dilligence, what is best for the majority so that the majority gets to extend its benefits in all simplicity to all minorities

Inspiration is at the heart of democratic participation.

How do we tap into inspiration and do we get on to channel inspiration?

By embodying the simplicity of love comminted in action and in truth in our daily lives. Healthy inspiration reaches out to all ages. With it, we get to be invigorated in the present with hope.

Again, this is where communities need to realise that school is the middle ground of personal and communal cultivation and that it is crucial to develop the framework of functional democracy, grown around the heart of Health-Education-Correction.

Here is a piece I wrote in 2002, in an attempt to describe how we could approach and deploy such a school policy at the personal and communal level:

MUTUAL PENETRATION WITH HISTORY
A NATIONAL RETREAT TO ENTER THE LIFE
OF OUR COLLECTIVE DESTINY

History is generally understood by young people, as this boring academic chore required of them by the education system.
The intent and purpose of the curriculum in teaching history, is to cultivate the relevancy of the past to the present, thereby preparing students in what provides them with the awareness of continuity.
Because of such a low level of interest for history among students, a new approach could be tried. Instead of academically bringing the past to the present, why not equip each student with what is needed to explore the past, starting from their own personal present.
By bringing the students to explore what brought about their own life, it will generate an ability for the in-depth look to understand their present, it will gradually connect their lives with the past and thereby will eliminate the irrelevancy. This method would motivate by inspiring as opposed to force-feeding the memory for the sake of the curriculum.
Because of the state of the age which we live in locally and globally, anyone with noble concerns for education is aware of the massive need to heal the individual identity�s growth process, by tuning in the dynamics of inter-personal activity with reconciliation and co-operation. History of the whole human race is screaming to remind us of that.
It doesn�t make much sense to teenagers to learn that their parents, teachers and governments are going on repeating history without any alternative being offered other than: �You live in the best country on earth, so don�t complain�, type of response.
If the history curriculum were to bring together the sciences relevant to the healing of history such as sociology, psychology and all the way to psycho-neuro immunology, they could pave a path to develop the method from play school on, with the parents and child, and set the relevancy so as to bridge school solidly with home life.
History classes would then become a time in school when one is given a chance to assemble the components of his or her existence, where one learns to assimilate each life experience in a maturing perspective of his or her life. It would develop the rationality from understanding the path of their own life and identity. By entering history in such a personal manner, school would evolve to provide a forum for the apprenticeship of communicating in the comfort of intimacy and in the confidence of trust.
It would gradually lead the �I am� of each student into the relevancy between their life and the flow of history in the riverbed of time.
Such a method could even become key to open the doors of the community, reaching out through the cultural and social walls of divisions, by entering the dimension where academic and practice find trust and harmony with each other. In practical terms, it would be the neutral ground to bridge and to complete the distance and the incompatibilities between home and community life.
This approach also provides the opportunity to embark on a massive research and development movement into the human faculty of living.

The faculty of living is the holy grail aimed at by all people of good will through out humanity�s history. It is the initial and final frontier of knowledge for the solemn beauty of being human to emerge.

The faculty of living is what brings each individual to be penetrated and to penetrate the meaning of existence while providing guidance and nourishment to live in the state of justice, peace and joy.
Historically, this faculty has been painfully growing through millenniums of dark, fearful and evil resistance on the part of those who hold on to knowledge, intellectually acquired, as opposed to spiritually acquired knowledge.

Such resistance is present in all human beings and is responsible for the perpetuation of the never-ending power struggle and misery among humanity.
The faculty of living is the healthy state of spiritual human living in all that it means and separated apart from all the lies that it never meant and yet, that are still upheld today in various forms.
Destiny is calling each and all to the citizenship that expresses the solemn beauty of being human.

This is, after all, what the ancient voice of humanity�s youth has been longing for throughout the ages, feeding and reverberating the growth of common sense.
Yes, the history curriculum can indeed become a safe and yet potent tool for the authorities of care to cultivate our individual and collective growth into the stability of well-being.
In time, as the cultivation takes root, we could attain the point at which we begin the process of harnessing the lessons of the past and learn to live, with great contagion across all of the Earth, in the solemn beauty of being human, cheered on by the ancient voice of humanity�s youth and enjoyed in the health of common sense.

Offered to all the moms, dads and children who seek inner justice, peace and joy within and amongst us all...

...may all blessings be with us all...

Benoit Couture

--- On Wed, 8/27/08, Janet Feldman <kaippg@...> wrote:

From: Janet Feldman <kaippg@...>
Subject: [holistichelping] John Dada: Fantsuam has terrific women's/ICTs programs (input for grant?)/peace and Includer links?/Thanks Andrius!
To: learningfromeachother@yahoogroups.com, holistichelping@yahoogroups.com
Cc: johndada@...
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 12:34 PM

Dear All,

So happy that the feedback has been helpful, Andrius, and I very much
appreciate the solid support for--and focus on--women, while at the same
time also addressing our interest and need to be helpful to men. You have
intuitively understood what we at KAIPPG have also discovered: that
"gender" issues and challenges do include both genders! If not, those who
are not included in some way may be part of the problem, rather than being
part of the solution.

The monetary link is extremely important, in part because women often do not
have education, literacy, training for work, or access to formal credit, yet
become the primary family breadwinners due to HIV/AIDS or for some other
reason, and desperately need a means of support for their families.

There has also been a research link made between women having some source of
income and a lessening of violence done to them by their male spouses or
partners (probably because the money is so important to the daily life of
the family), though the process of women becoming trained and more
independent with regard to money does tend to still be a flashpoint.

At KAIPPG, we try to encourage men to be part of the solution by ensuring
that they too have some training on ICTs, for example, and we give them
counselling and other types of education and awareness-raising, in part of
build their own self-esteem, and in part to gain their acceptance and
understanding about what we are doing to help women. We have enlisted
village chiefs and elders (mostly men) in campaigns that encourage education
and training for women, too, which has helped a lot.

Thus, what you propose is excellent: shared responsibilities, learning, and
a feeling and fact of "working together" to produce innovative and effective
results.

I have been thinking about John Dada and Fantsuam (hello John!!!) with
regard to this grant, too. He did post some time ago, expressing interest in
being involved with our Includer project, so hope we can indeed link this
African Innovation grant in some way to Nigeria, as well as Ghana (and
hopefully extend--in some informal way--the work we are doing to help our
members in Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zimbabwe...and further, to India,
Afghanistan, and more).

John also expressed interest in our peace work, esp the conflict-resolution
training, so that would be another link we might make.

John, would you have any input for us at this time? I recall that Fantsuam
has some wonderful programs with a focus on women, and at least one on women
and ICTs (women using ICTs to record and preserve traditional knowledge).

Thanks to everyone, and I will be happy to write a recommendation letter if
and when needed, and otherwise be here for more feedback and work on the
grant! Blessings to all, Janet

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrius Kulikauskas" <ms@...>
To: <holistichelping@ yahoogroups. com>; <onereachinganother@ yahoogroups. com>
Cc: <learningfromeachoth er@yahoogroups. com>; <communitywork@ yahoogroups. com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 1:39 AM
Subject: [learningfromeachot her] Thank you for your ideas for our proposal

> Janet and all, Thank you for your wonderfully helpful letters!
>
> I also spoke by phone with Rachel Wambui Kungu - I will ask her to be in
> charge of making sure that women participate - I am thinking that all of
> our no-interest microloans (about 2,000 at $100) should go to women - and
> so I need ideas on how to help women and men work together so that the
> result is not domestic violence. We will also have microresearch stipends
> (375 of them, they are each 200 USD of paid work and 200 USD of microloans
> and the purpose of the microresearch will be to support a team of 5 women
> who receive the microloans). Men can be these researchers but their
> research purpose is to support the women who are applying innovations. I
> think we need a way to include men in our culture of independent thinkers
> so that they have intellectual esteem but women have practical monetary
> decision making power. So the idea is that these resources are for men
> and women who participate in our culture and whose family members are
> invited to participate in the culture, too. I ask for our wisdom and our
> ideas.
>
> I also spoke with Dennis Kimambo and he agreed to participate. I will ask
> him to be our special consultant for teaching how to promote ideas using
> community theater and other means.
>
> Rachel and Dennis both agreed that 2,000 USD per year is sufficient for
> such a part-time commitment throughout the year. They will be our
> all-purpose specialists. Samwel will lead our rural center at Rusinga
> Island / Mbita Point and Kennedy will lead our urban center in Nairobi
> near the slums. Our center leaders will likewise receive 2,000 USD per
> year. These will be informal centers - hubs for global village teams -
> but with the idea that over time they will find physical centers.
>
> Wednesday I will write up my draft of my proposal for the African
> Innovation Challenge Fund.
> http://www.worknets .org/wiki. cgi?AfricanInnov ationChallengeFu nd
> Then I will ask you to send me letters of support. The letters will
> simply be answers to my questionnaire which I include below so that you
> can think about them. Perhaps you have suggestions regarding the
> questions.
>
> Thank you, Fred, Davis, Joseph, for wonderful letters from Uganda! My
> plan is that we will have rural and urban centers first in Kenya, then in
> Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and likewise first in Lithuania, then in Missouri
> / Chicago, Silicon Valley, Austria.
>
> Also, I spoke today with Pamela McLean and she like the idea that London
> will serve as our crossroads where our traveling ambassadors will meet
> every six months as they are coming or going to Africa, US or Europe.
> Also, she will link us with John Dada of Fantsuam Foundation.
>
> ------------ --------
> Your full name:
>
> City and country where you live:
>
> Contact information: email, phone or other ways of publicly reaching you.
>
> What is your deepest value in life that includes all of your other values?
>
> What is a question that you don't know the answer to, but wish to answer?
>
> What would you like to achieve in the next three years?
>
> When and how did you learn of Minciu Sodas?
>
> How have you participated in Minciu Sodas and how have you grown and
> benefited by participating?
>
> What challenges of agriculture in Africa would you most like to help with?
>
> Which food stories would you collect? and how would you share them so they
> have the biggest impact?
>
> How can you help us reach out and include women?
>
> How could you best apply yourself if we gave you $2,000 of support for us
> to work together?
>
> What are organizations and networks that you would involve and how?
>
> ------------ --------
>
> Andrius Kulikauskas
> Minciu Sodas
> http://www.ms. lt
> ms@...
> +1 312 618 3345
>
>
> ------------ --------- --------- ------
>
> Each letter sent to Learning From Each Other enters the PUBLIC DOMAIN
> unless it explicitly states otherwise http://www.ethicalp ublicdomain. org
> Please be kind to our authors!Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

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