Newsletters

Dreams of the Dead Come Alive December 2011

“Dead man walking…” shout the guards, signaling the last steps of the condemned. Execution awaits.

But can you imagine an entire community declaring itself “dead man walking?” No sentence debated by law. Or deliberated by a jury. Or handed down by a judge.

But a dead-end destiny just the same. Confirmed by open sewers. By drug addiction. By gun fights.

Welcome to life in a “no man’s land.” And welcome to the adopted community of one of our dreamers.

• Sacrificial Love
• Dogged Perseverance
• More Than Talk
• Lasting Change
• Teamwork
• Long-term Commitment
• The Power of Hope
• Call to Action

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The Power of Life on Life Rub November 2011

Huddling around my small computer screen in the dim light sifting through the bamboo grove, we heard, “Hello…hello…hello? Can you hear me? I’m skyping from New Jersey.”

“Yes. Can you hear us? We’re in Thailand.” Thus began our virtual friendship with Jinju Pottenger.

Later we resumed our chat from Jordan, when she was in China. Our dialogue paused during her summer off-line in North Korea. Finally, after nine months of cyberspace links, we met in person. We’d arrived home just twelve hours earlier ourselves, but returned to the airport to greet Jinju.

And so began another in a long series of custom-crafted internships.

• Investment for a Lifetime
• Practiced Values
• Mutual Benefit
• Lasting Change
• Everyone Has Something to Offer
• Family Ties with Respect
• Helping Lights Shine

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The Antidote For Heartsickness June 2011

It’s that time of year.

Graduations!  Congratulations! Celebrations!

But, not for everyone.  Not for the Tunisian vegetable peddler, Mohamed Bouazizi.

His dad died when he was three.  So at age 10, Mohamed started work to support his widowed mom, ill uncle, and six siblings.  In a town with 30% unemployment, his job hunt went nowhere.  So after 16 years at work, he still earned under $5 a day pushing a vegetable cart.  But he was popular around town; he shared food with those too poor to pay.

His kindness got him no slack from bullying officers.  Harassment, year after year.  Grabbed produce.  Imposed fines.  Confiscated scales.  The unabated abuse snuffed out his hopes.

One Friday last December, he’d had enough.  He argued back.  The result?  Spit.  Swear.  Slap.  Seized livelihood.  Public humiliation.  His demand for a hearing?  Spurned.  His dignity disgraced, voice ignored, justice denied.  Despairing, Mohamed was desperate.  He doused himself with fuel in front of the municipality authority.

And he struck a match.

• A Recipe for Heartsickness
• Deeds, Not Speeches
• Jobs with Dignity
• Healthcare with Love
• Housing with Hope
• Family Ties with Respect
• Helping Lights Shine

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Dreaming: Not for the Faint of Heart February 2011

Bludgeons.  Tear gas.  Water cannon.  Live ammunition.  Upheaval is rocking the Middle East.

We tracked the action on-line while on assignment in Southeast Asia.  A photo-journalist who’d covered our dreamers in Beirut was man-handled in Cairo’s alleys.  Our Egyptian friends dropped into a black hole with internet and phone service severed.

And then, we suddenly got a line back into Cairo

• Passion: the Fuel of Dreams
• Dreamers: Starting at the Bottom
• Face-time, Not Just Facebook
• Networks, Not lone rangers

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Accompaniment An Amazing Journey December 2010

“Hah!  You deserve it!”  I laughed out loud.

The rooster outside my hut had just choked after three hours’ crowing since 2:30 a.m.  I rolled over in the steamy heat on my floor mat wishing exhaustion from yesterday’s 10-hour drive might put me to sleep.  With another 8-hour drive ahead, I needed it.  But no such luck.  That rooster let loose again.  I lost my battle for sleep that night.  But that’s just a bit of what it takes to accompany, in person, on the ground.

• Accompaniment’s Fruit: Trust
• Accompaniment’s Need: Expanding
• Accompaniment’s Invitation: Join In
• Accompaniment’s Commitment: Passionate

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Overcoming Evil With Good October 2010

With a nervous Lebanese taxi driver at the wheel, we headed into the unknown at night.

David and I had assured John, our board chair, that we’d play his visit to Lebanon safe.  But we should have known better.  We called one of our wilder dreamers when we touched down in Beirut.  After David snapped his cell phone closed, he said, “Melhem insists we come straight to him immediately, now!”

• Sowing Seeds of Peace
• Building Trust with Living Stones
• Injecting Hope through Values in Action
• Enduring Sacrifice as an Act of Passion

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Making Headlines Below the Sight Line June 2010

You may have seen the Thailand crisis headlines…

- Bangkok like war zone as military cracks down on protesters.[1]

- Are Bangkok protests just a taste of things to come?[2]

- Heartland of Thailand, still angry and divided.[3]

“This is the worst crisis Thailand has had, ever….and where we go from here I don’t think anybody knows, “noted Charles Keyes, career Thailand specialist and Anthropology professor emeritus.[4]

But some insiders do know.  They are living an alternative, below the sight line.  And we’re in their corner.

• Seeds of Transformation Grow Quietly
• A Little Child Will Lead Them
• Turning Their Dream into Deeds
• Sustaining Their Momentum