“Peace begins in the home because it is where we learn to trust, respect, and work together with members of our human family. The warm and nurturing family environment that women create is the model for the peaceful world of One Family under God.” – Dr. Jun Sook Moon, Global Peace Convention 2017
Tanzanian mother participate in an education program hosted by Global Peace Foundation
A young Tanzanian mother sat at her desk, balancing a pencil in one hand and her precious wiggling baby in the other. She carefully transcribed the numbers and letters that volunteer teachers pointed to on the classroom blackboard.
Other children scurry down the aisles, weaving between their mothers and fathers and other students.
This classroom and others like it are a part of Global Peace Foundations’ efforts to empower girls and women of all ages. In the safe environment, the women and girls are encouraged to advance their leadership capacities within their families and communities. Classes cover subjects like English literacy and hygiene.
A common thread binds these students: their motivation. Most of them attend classes as parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and are driven to become better for their families.
The programs remind participants, particularly parents, that one of the most important leadership positions they hold is in their families. This is where they start as change makers in their society. From the family, they can positively impact the emotional and spiritual foundations of each family member. They can cultivate essential virtues like perseverance, dedication to the community, and integrity, and to inspire future generations with the vision to be moral and innovative people who can contribute to their world.
A classroom full of mothers and sisters in Tanzania.
The classrooms focus on the innate value of each individual and their unique contribution to building healthy families as the foundation of healthy societies.
The workshops uplift not position, wealth, or power as measures of leadership and success, but essential and important qualities that women bring to the table that make them natural and powerful leaders in their family. These qualities also bring value to their community, school, workplace, and government.
The program is an offshoot of a leadership academy that is raising young Tanzanian women who are energizing the movement to help families and communities recognize the unique value and vital role of women.
The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God. GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national and regional peace-building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation