“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform,” Diane Mariechild, Author. March is Women’s History Month, a time to honor the role women play in our lives by creating nurturing, and transforming our world. As I write this from Ibague, Colombia, during the week leading up to International Women’s Day, I am meeting with IPM’s longstanding Project Partners and witnessing first-hand the transformative power that women-led organizations play in ensuring social justice through the holistic development of their communities. This morning we met with a number of local leaders from the academic and political sectors who speak beautifully of the their commitments but are hampered by endemic corruption and the socio-economic realities of Colombia. Once again, I am reminded that beyond funding and rhetoric, it is the deep, inter-personal relationships which IPM nurtures that do more to develop and sustain partnerships than any other factor. The women of Ser Muyer spend their days laboring under the sun in Ibague’s marketplace, doing back-breaking domestic work in the informal sector, and rising their families against often insurmountable odds. Through their personal strength and shared collaborative efforts they somehow find the time to also nurture the Centro de Formacion para la Paz (Center for the Formation of Peace). They do so knowing that the Centro equips their children with alternative responses to the violence and self-destructive behavior prevalent in their community of Barrio Ciudad de Luz (ironically, the City of Light). As we continue celebrating IPM’s 40th Anniversary Year, it is women like Martha Cecilia Arroyave and Jennifer Gualteros Pastrana—the Project Coordinators for both Ser Muyer and Centro por la Formacion de la Paz—that epitomize the difference the women of IPM continue to make every day in creating, nurturing, and transforming our world. Peace and best wishes to each of you as you and your loved ones celebrate International Women’s Day this weekend! Joseph F. Cistone Ibague, COLOMBIA March 5, 2014
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:28:02 +0000
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