Category Archives: global citizen

Guest Post: How to Plant a Seed of Peace

by
 

This guest post is by businesswoman Esta Singer (pictured above). She's one of my favorites in the social space. With decades of experience with nonprofits and foundations, she looks at issues from every possible angle and perspective. And that approach informs her guest post on her late fathers's efforts to bring people together, and promote global peace and cultural understanding. Enjoy!

___________________________________________________________________

"How to Plant a Seed of Peace" by Esta Singer

 
Can one kid make a difference? Can one kid living in a country in conflict lead their country towards peace? What if we brought together a group of kids from countries in conflict to one place, and taught them acceptance, tolerance and leadership skills to return to and build their dream to live in peace?  What if there was such a place?
 
As a matter of fact, there is. A unique camp called Seeds of Peace was established in Maine in 1993. Teenagers, Palestinian, Israeli; teens from South Asia, Cypress, and the Balkans, converge in a safe environment; arrive hating and distrusting and yet, willing to set aside beliefs for the opportunity to learn acceptance, and how to be leaders that incite change. These teenagers leave with hope, friendships, and skills to make a difference when they return home.
 

Becoming a Seed is competitive. Of the over 8,000 applicants who apply each year, only about 4.5% of candidates are selected by their governments or through their schools to join a delegation to the International Camp. While a majority of nearly 5,000 Seeds are from the Middle East, a growing number—now over a third—are from other conflict areas. 94% reported having little to "no contact" with the other side before Seeds of Peace.

My dad had been passionately involved with the camp since the early 1990s.  A guy who grew up in the Bronx, and built a small cleaning supply business, used his hustle and street smarts to rally large vendors to donate palettes of supplies to the camp. He was inspired by Seeds campers from the moment they were introduced. Feeling their hope and hunger for change, he collected enormous donations of cleaning supplies each summer through and shipped the materials to Maine where they were put to great use. Year after year my dad tirelessly assembled goods, getting creative with products and knowing he was supporting a great cause.

He was the most generous, warm, fun-loving, quick-witted man I've ever known. I never heard a bad word from his lips towards anyone who had different beliefs, or different lifestyles. He embraced it all. Not wealthy, nor a politician (at least not professionally) he amassed a large following, and drove people to take action for "good." He set an example living his life by giving back to others. It was a perk that he was a fun, very cool, and street smart dad who knew how to get in, out, and around everything; a smart guy who always had my back, and made me  laugh every day.

Dad passed away in January. Battling cancer for 22 months; the guy didn't complain one time in all those days. Had you asked him how is doing weeks prior to his death, he would have said "fan-tastic." He held his positive attitude and humor until the very end. Within 24 hours, nearly 500 people gathered to attend his funeral. He was the true definition of influence in “social” without the “media.” A true testament to how many lives he touched.

Dad and mom were together 50 years; a very cool couple and, great team. Next to our family, closest to my dad's heart was Seeds of Peace. He instilled a “doing the right thing” attitude in his kids, grandkids, and set an example for all the kids at Seeds of Peace. My dad worked his whole life to do *good * in the world; to give back, to make a difference. He never needed, or wanted, recognition for all he’d given to others. He will no longer be hustling every year to rally supplies for the camp, or visit the kids he loved to see every summer up in Maine.

His dream for the future is a place for kids to have the same chance, to grow and thrive in peace.  We all want the same for our kids and their future. We’d each like the chance to plant planted a seed that will grow, and spread peace. Each of us now have a real opportunity to plant that seed, and give another kid a chance to become a leader, and grow peace.

In honor of my dad’s memory, our family established a Memorial Scholarship Fund that will enable one future leader to attend the Seeds of Peace camp this summer. We need to come together and raise $6,000.00 to plant one seed for the 2013 summer summit.

Years ago I asked dad “do you think there is more good in the world or bad?” and without missing a beat, he responded “good.”  Dad, thank you for all you have given to me, and to the world.

Please click the link to plant your seed of peace. Dad is listed as a Funding Partner on the Seeds of Peace web page.

_____________________________________

You can never do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Powerful Story from Haiti (VIDEO)

by

It has been almost a year since the devastating earthquake that shook the island nation of Haiti. The world responded in a big way. In fact, writer Jose Antonio Vargas reasoned earlier this year that the Haitian Tragedy helped to create the Global Citizen 2.0. Never before had the world spoke in nearly one voice to such a catastrophe. Certainly, technology aided the response. It was truly a beautiful moment.

As 2010 wore on, the “Rebuilding of Haiti” left the front pages. But it never left our collective hearts. There have been so many Haitian stories of hope and revival, and the pictures continue to be heart-stopping. This video below, courtesy of CNN, is nothing less than riveting. It’s a great story about quake survivors reuniting, and dealing with the pain of that experience. Let’s hope that stories like this will keep the world engaged into 2011 and beyond.

WATCH:

Soulstrip: A Poetic Masterpiece

by

This is cross-posted in the Huffingtonpost Books Section.

Poetry has always given our lives special meaning. Maya Angelou painted a memorable, moving portrait of self-love in “Phenomenal Woman”. Emily Dickinson‘s garden of scented, exotic flowers inspired the beautiful vision of “There is Another Sky”. And the words of Kahlil Gibran are so deeply invested in the light of the human spirit that you feel anything is possible.

Daniela Hoeche, an amazing young poet from Germany, is headed down the same road of literary notoriety. Her book, SoulStrip, is one of the best books of poetry to arrive this year, and, one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. In short, it’s an unmistakable masterpiece.

Of all the themes and subjects the book addresses, love is the one that constantly pulls at the reader. Here is a great example from the title poem:

Words find an address
I can send them to
The soul connection
Between us two
My shades are gone
It’s a soulstrip baby
It’s on

Emotional, fearless, and simplistic. She’s making an extraordinary expression of love, baring her soul for all to see. She wants you to know that her love is real. And it’s that authenticity that runs throughout poems like “Music”, “You” and “The Peace Inside of Us”. But of all her poems, my favorite is “Motivational Rhyme”:

We are emotional lifers / passionate givers,
Writers of feelings, builders of meanings,
Singing believers, blessed receivers,
People of choices, the future’s voices

These four lines of the poem speak to the impact she wants her book to have on the reader, and, to what believes in and fights every day to make a reality. Soulstrip is for the global citizen whose dream is about connectedness and a healthy respect for all shades of humanity. As Hoeche explains, “Never before has the world been so close together, never before has the world been so visible.”

If Soulstrip is any indication, this could be the first of many great works to come from Daniela Hoeche, an important voice for a new century of literary creativity.