[Dialogue] Hope

[Jo Nelson]

My witness date for the earthrise list was actually last Monday -- perhaps
to prepare me for a profoundly reflective week.

I was privileged to co-facilitate the ICAI General Assembly -- approximately
35 people, representing 20 nations.

I like to think that my day-to-day work is actually changing lives, and
changing history.  And it is.

What I was blown away by this week was that what we are doing as a network,
years after we dissolved ourselves as an "order", is truly having an impact
on the building of civil society and the literal healing of lives.

In South Africa, ICA Itereleng is teaching black and white high school
students together.  (Think of that in a South African historical context!)
They are bringing awareness to young people about sexual  practices and
gender roles, and that they can make decisions about their own lives. Shimi
wears a t-shirt "men as equal partners". It would be impossible to count the
young people whose lives are saved by their own or their partner's
subsequent choice to avoid HIV-AIDS.

ICA in Zimbabwe is carefully preparing the ground for later seeds of
participation in civil society.  In the current situation, any meeting of
more than 10 people must be registered with the police, and has an
undercover police present.  They are teaching facilitation skills to other
NGO's in this climate.

Tatwa Timsina brought pictures of thousands of people coming together in
Nepal to stop their King from his suppression and dictatorship.  ICA Nepal
was active in encouraging people to take responsibility for their own civil
society and quietly supported the events that shifted the power in their
country back to elected representatives of the people in the past few weeks.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what we are doing to change history
on this planet.  Every one of the people in those three stories joined
forces with ICA in the last decade, and none is of European descent.

When I want to give into my despair about world events, I find myself now
inspired (and humbled) by the commitment of my colleagues, all of whom has
picked up the responsibility for changing the world.  This is where our
future as a planet rests.  Ham d'l Allah, thanks be to God.

 

I am Jo Nelson, working with ICA across the planet as an imaginal educator,
facilitator, and trainer of facilitators since 1970.  Wayne Nelson and I
have been married for 33 years, and we have 2 grown sons.  We have been
settled in Toronto since 1986.


--
Jo Nelson, CPF, CTF  <jnelson at ica-associates.ca>
Certified Professional Facilitator and ICA Certified ToP Facilitator
ICA Associates, Inc.  655 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1G4
Ph. 1 416-691-2316, x230  Toll-free 1 877-691-1422  Fax 1 416-691-2491
Website http://ica-associates.ca

Vendor of Record: Government of Ontario Management Board Secretariat
Vendor of Record for Organizational Management with Public Works and
Government Services Canada

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  Margaret Mead