| Building Peace One Child At a Time by Linda Evans Millions of children have been orphaned in the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Estimates are that 3 to 4 million children will be orphaned by 2010 in South Africa alone. Conditions in post-apartheid South Africa are highly complex, way beyond the comprehension of most of us in America. Deep wounds remain from colonialism, slavery and years of abuse of black South Africans. Although apartheid has officially ended, segregation and prejudices continue. Black South African children have experienced the abuses and traumas related to drug and alcohol abuse, street gangs, poverty and famine. Now added to that situation, those same children are being orphaned due to rampant AIDS, losing their shelter from the troubled world around them. The Light Center has been given the opportunity to assist in the creation of children's villages in South Africa to house some of these orphans. Along with the Unity Church in Johannesburg and Novalis Institute (a Rudolph Steiner educational institute in Cape Town, South Africa), shelter, food and education will be provided for orphaned children both as residential and day care. How can we prepare these children for the future? It would be presumptuous for us as Americans to even attempt to answer that question. We cannot begin to understand the complexities of the South African culture. How then can a small non-profit Unity center in the woods of Kansas have any effect on these children? Fortunately, our partner agencies are all South African organizations who will take the leadership in this project. We will rely on their expertise and greater knowledge of the situation and the needs. It is our intention simply to back them up in every way we can learn to do so. We do not go into South Africa with any agenda to save or fix anyone. It is our philosophy to be in service to Life. Rather than fighting AIDS or any social problem, it is our focus to carry as much peace as we can right into the midst of the situation. That is one thing we have in abundance in our quiet 34 acres of woods deep in the countryside. Perhaps that is enough to carry peace into a troubled corner of the earth, carrying a reminder of the truth of the wholeness that we all embody. The work of preparing for the future is all about building a new world. The energy frequencies are available to us now to create whatever we want for this planet. Where we place our focus is what we are creating moment by moment. If we focus on fighting AIDS, we will create a battlefield. This world does not need one more battlefield. Instead, we can choose to focus all of our energy on building peace. For the children with whom we come in contact, that is enough. To hold a child in unconditional love is a good place to start, wherever we are. Connecting to the truth in our hearts, the healing begins. It matters not whether our hair is grey or black or even purple, the work now is the same for all of us. We are all in need of healing, of reconnecting at the deepest levels. At the core we are all one heart longing for connection. We don't need to know how to prepare ourselves for the future. We need to learn to be fully whole right now, that is, fully connected to pure Spirit. The future will create itself. For more information, The Light Center may be contacted at (785) 255-4583 or www.lightcenterks.org. Copyright © 2003 Linda Evans |
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