A potpourri of emotions...read at your own risk

We are all human.....at some point in time, we were each just a child, both needing and deserving of love....not just the expected parental love, but love that you show for the sake of humanity. Children are the innocent bystanders. They can be the product of either love or hate or selfishness or any of a number of reasons or actions, but every child born onto this Earth is deserving of love, of an open heart, we owe it to the children to find peace in our world, for their sake.....we were children once....we have been shaped by our relationships, by our environment, by our circumstance....but every child becomes an individual responsible for making the right choices....and we MUST be the role model that we each would have sought in our own lives, at that age.....somehow, in this great world, power and money and fame have taken over....where did the humanity go?? if every person looked to their neighbor with a smile, a simple smile, an embrace, a piece of bread for the hungry, a pair of shoes for the homeless, a helping hand for the elderly.....it doesn't take much....every single one of us has the ability to do such a simple action, once every day for the sake of our own humanity.....i challenge you...each day, just do one thing that you would want someone to do for your own child or your own mother or father or sister or brother.....look out for each other....we are all in this world together...every action we take has an consequence.....think about yours...

OK....so, all of the above is just me trying to make sense of it all....to all my brothers and sisters in this great United States....you wake up in the comfort of your home, with breakfast in your kitchen, and job to go to, and a paycheck awaiting you....and you don't have to worry about the safety of your family, or if what you say about our President will get you shot, or your child kidnapped; you don't have to worry about the cost of bread tripling, or worse yet, not being available....have you stopped to think what it is really like for just another Joe Shmoe in other parts of the world? You can count your blessings you were born in this country...but don't think that entitles you...

...Having watched an incredible movie called HOME on Saturday, I can say that I truly believe in my work - in EARTH University. I really believe, in my soul, that we are cultivating the young people who will turn this world around from the harm we have caused our one true HOME.....

and now....Rwanda...Two sides to every story...

Printed just a year ago, April 2009, this story seems to paint Rwanda as a very forward-thinking, forward-moving country; making great strides since the genocides of 1994. In fact, this is the type of news I had been hearing as I have been preparing for my trip....

But then.....you see this story just a couple weeks ago in the New York Times, and you cannot help but ask these questions: Who has the most to gain or lose from sharing this story? How do you decide on which side to put your belief? You cannot simply want to believe so badly that they are moving forward to discredit this story, but then, after their past, can you blame their leader for wanting to take control of a situation before any harm is done? But on the flip side, can you really detain someone before any crime is committed?.....***and so after I just posted this blog, I was directed to a rebuttal by the Rwanda Government to the New York Times Story....***

And then I continue reading online and discover that in light of their upcoming August elections, there are numerous reports of political oppression by Kagame and his political party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF)... I cannot help but ask myself, what does this mean about the country's progress? About Kagame and his political will?

Just when I was beginning to think about how great of an example Rwanda is as a country that can bring itself out of its own worst possible situation and be a leader for other African countries....now, it is a bit disheartening to think that the political will of Kagame and the RPF may be based more on the power-hungry individual than the health of their country as a whole...I cannot help but think of Mugabe in Zimbabwe and Chavez and Venezuela....in the beginning, many people saw them in a positive light....and now their countries are in ruin, with much fault on their own shoulders....

And then our President, who quoted so well about what Africa needs (as quoted from Human Rights Watch report):

'Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions,' such as 'strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges; an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society.' But Obama has not put pressure on U.S. allies like Paul Kagame....to reform their increasingly authoritarian rule.

Despite the above news, I have been wanting to journal a bit more in recent days about some new viewpoints I have been reading about relating to humanitarian work and the pros and cons of international aid....

And in addition to the above....I have been reading "A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis" (thank you Cherry) and although I still have much to read, I have already begun to see the other side of humanitarian work...the idealistic humanitarian, wanting to believe in the human rights of each individual, regardless of their actions...but really, all the moral and ethical reasons for helping have political consequences...the idealist that I am, I am becoming more and more aware that you really cannot be the savior of the world......Abraham Lincoln's perception was that sometimes war is necessary, "Not all wars are just wars. But all wars have causes." Mary B Anderson once said, "Aid can feed into and exacerbate the conflicts that cause the suffering it is meant to alleviate," often further reinforcing the exact problem that the help is trying to fix.

I definitely understand this perspective, as I sat watching this clip about homelessness....as an individual, never knowing if providing the help just paralyzes the receiver's desire to overcome their challenges, or if perhaps the act of helping would indeed help push them in the right direction....ultimately, as I think about the different views, I cannot help but believe that it comes down to what is truly sustainable....what help can we provide now, that won't paralyze, but provide a tool for further development.....and to me, education is key.....not just of the youth, but of the adults....and I am beginning to see more and more how those who help with professional development at homeless shelters, etc, are really helping to build a solid foundation on which individuals can meet their unique potentials....

So, I think this is some of the most random outbursts of thoughts I have had in some time, so I do apologize if I have lost you....I have decided that even if no one but myself reads these words, at least I can use this as a tool for my own development, both as a professional and as an individual.....

I am accepting that I don't need all the answers right now. It isn't the destination, but the journey that will be the most rewarding. And I am ready to open both my mind, and my heart, to whatever may come my way....