Archive for December, 2008

Principles of Kwanzaa

Published by George Nemeth on December 28, 2008 in Conversations. 1 Comment

Our good friend Anthony Houston has been teaching us the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa:

  • Umoja: To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
  • Kujichagulia: To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
  • Ujima: To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
  • Ujamaa: To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.
  • Nia: To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
  • Kuumba: To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
  • Imani: To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Rich conversations for any community to learn and grow.

Acting in Community

Published by George Nemeth on December 16, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Very inspirational:

I look for the organizations that engage everyday citizens in making their world a better place. I personally support agencies that say, yes you are a vital part of the solution. Cora Tomalinas, or Manang Cora (Tagalog term of respect for “Big sister”), has always been an inspiration because I always knew she was much more than “just parent” as she put it. As parents, we instinctively know that no one is “just a parent” - we are advocates, health assesors, cheerleaders, and educators. Manang Cora is a trained PACT leader (People Acting in Community Together). There are a million reasons why I believe in the change this organization advocates for. But mostly it is because as organizers, they believe that everyday people make difference and that by sharing their stories, we all benefit and all find common ground…

The video in this post is inspirational too.

Silicon Valley Moms Blog: People Acting in Community Together: Where everyday moms lead change