Initiatives of Change

The nations of North, South and Central America contain a unique blend of cultures and unmatched natural resources. They also experience violence, discrimination, corruption and gross inequality. But could the Americas be a bridge between rich and poor, raise awareness of the sanctity of life and human dignity, and be an example of unity for the rest of the world? More than 70 people from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, USA and Canada, as well as France, the UK and the Netherlands explored this vision at the XIIIth Encontro das Americas held March 8-16, 2008 at the Sitio Sao Luiz, the IofC Center in the “imperial city” of Petropolis. Founded in 1843, the city’s name honors Brazil’s Emperor Dom Pedro II.

During nine days of honest conversation, participants shared their hopes and frustrations and made concrete plans to bring about change and build new relationships. “We will build trust across the world’s divides beginning with ourselves and a commitment to understanding and addressing those political and social divides which fracture our region,” they said in a draft vision statement. “We commit to addressing the hurts and harms inflicted by these ongoing divides by providing hope and healing.”

“During this week we are finding out what the Americas can give to the world. But first we need to be in touch, to be united, learn more about each other’s culture, each country’s problems and how we can find a solution,” said Luis Puig, the president of IofC Brazil. Regional television and print media covered the event.

As the Colombian delegation made its way up the steep, winding road to the center 2,500 feet above Rio do Janeiro, their president was attempting to defuse contentious issues with neighboring Ecuador and Venezuela. The group included students, an engineer, educators, a representative of indigenous people, and the son of Bogotá’s former police chief. Helena Salazar said she was determined to build a bridge between the social classes in Bogotá. “I thought I was very aware. But when the government began to publish figures about the minimum wage, I realized that many times I would spend in one day what someone earning a minimum wage earns in a month. It changed me in terms of responsibility.”

Community leaders from Rio de Janeiro told how applying the principles of Initiatives of Change enabled them to reclaim gang and drug infested neighborhoods where violence is endemic. One leader had blocked three main travel arteries in Rio to protest government neglect of the vast informal communities, which are home to hundreds of thousands due to a lack of affordable housing. Through learning to listen to God and apply the standards of honesty, purity, unselfishness and love, he became a constructive force for change. “Organized crime used to pay 30 real to children to act as lookouts. Now people without being paid are taking responsibility to do their own social control,” he reported.

“I used to think that everyone came to exploit us,” said one woman. “Here I learned to exchange experiences. People from the asphalt roads can work with people from unpaved roads.” Another woman who provides programs for homeless children in a community of 100,000 people said, “There are no street children, only children on the street.”

A group from Argentina reported on the official launching of the IofC association in their country a few days earlier. Valéria Fracchia, a teacher, first connected with IofC in November. “I feel like I have been looking for something like this all my life – a group that shares my values.”

Rob and Susan Corcoran from Richmond, Virginia, alongside Killy Sanchez from Guatemala and Ismar Villaviencio from Honduras led a four-part workshop on building and sustaining diverse teams. In introducing the theme, the Corcorans said key factors in building teams across divisions of race, class and culture are honest and inclusive conversation, even with those most difficult to engage, acknowledgment of history and each person’s story, and “a willingness to look for change in myself not the other person.”

Interactive exercises and small group discussions resulted in many new personal insights:

“I learned that the most difficult people may be the most valuable people.”
“I thought I was good at teamwork, but now I realize I am not!”
“It was like reading a page of our lives and other people’s lives.”
“I find that I am very controlling. It comes from a difficult relationship with my mother. In my quiet time I thought ‘Give your mother a hug.’”
“I realized how privileged I am.”

The topic of relationships between regions and the need to build a vision that encompasses North and South recurred frequently. Susan Corcoran said, “Every day people from Latin America arrive in the USA. Some people like this and some do not. But it is changing the USA. We have had our first Hispanic presidential candidate.” She acknowledged that the USA is “like the big elephant of the Americas that tramples the grass when it moves. Sometimes it behaves like a rogue elephant. We need the help of friends in Latin America so that we learn to move with the herd.”

A leader of a Costa Rican farmers organization apologized for his bad feelings when the U.S. flag was raised along with other national flags at the conference. On the final day Nury Manuela from Bogotá, Colombia, told the Corcorans, “The Berlin Wall came down some years ago. But for me in these days an even higher wall came down – the wall between USA and Latin America – because you gave your hearts.”

“As Latins we must grow up and stop feeling inferior to others,” said Ismar Villavicencio. “This is a very important time in my life. I feel a great conviction for the Americas. We must have an objective beyond ourselves so that when difficulties arise we have something to unite us. We must link personal experience with a world vision.” Ismar is one of the coordinators of Gente que Avanza, a movement inspired by Initiatives of Change, which for thirty years has prepared young people across Latin America to make a difference in the world.

Alline Serpa, who works as an architect at Oswald Cruz Foundation, a science and technology health institution, took leave to organize the conference. “How can we connect all the peoples of America?” she asked. “Maybe we find an answer to corruption and social inequality.”

“The meeting was a big step towards integration, “said Maria Cristina Muňose, from Bogotá. “We could share in three languages our realities and realize that we (have) similar hopes and suffer the same problems, and we have a distorted image of other countries because of the media. A mutual enrichment and sharing with people from North America was possible, establishing a true continental spirit. We started to walk towards working together for change in the Americas.”

As conversation focused on building a sustainable future, John Freebury from Canada led a seminar on the global environmental challenge. He observed that IofC is well positioned to take effective action because of its emphasis on diversity and trust building, the insistence on self-regulation through listening to the inner voice, and the fact that most work is based on action by local teams.

Many delegates left with personal action plans to restore relationships. Ricarda Iquic of the Mayan people said she plans to work for reconciliation and to build a team in her indigenous community in Guatemala. For many, the family was the starting place for change. “I learned that if I want a new world, I must first know what are the dreams of my children and my husband,” said a Colombian.