WFWP GA CELEBRATES UN INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
It was the perfect spring day for WFWP Georgia’s first event of 2012. Spring comes early in Georgia! We chose to do our event in commemoration of UN International Women’s Day (March 8) as well as the anniversary of the tragic tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Nandi Moton, our emcee for the day, started the program by asking all the participants to introduce themselves by giving their name and saying one good thing about themselves—something women need to do more often! Mrs. Moton then invited up a Roman Catholic deacon (who reported she will soon be the first female Roman Catholic priest in Georgia!) to offer a prayer. After a brief recognition of IWD, Mrs. Moton led a moment of silence for all those who lost their lives or were displaced as a result of the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
We then watched a video introducing WFWP activities, which showed the breadth and depth of all we are doing around the world. The 30-plus guests were all most impressed. Celeste Koshida, Georgia chairwoman, then gave a brief PowerPoint presentation to introduce the four areas that WFWP USA has been developing. Then she invited a few of the members and guests present to share a little about the grass-roots activities they have been involved in locally that relate to those four areas.
Finally, we came to the main part of the program, the reading of one of the Founder’s inaugural speeches given in July 1992 entitled “The Central Role of Women in the Ideal World.” After Mrs. Koshida read the speech in its entirety, she led a discussion that quickly became very lively, with an honest sharing of hearts. We discussed the meaning of “true” that Mrs. Moon often used in her speech. The Roman Catholic deacon shared that she was so impressed by how WFWP can bring together women from all walks of life. In the audience that day, we had African women, white and black American women, Japanese women, and Hispanic women. All races were represented! We even had one man there!
Dr. Uwa Osimiri, founder and president of the African Women’s Economic Consortium (AWEC), shared that the principles in the speech “have universal application and should be the message we should embrace, [particularly the remarks about] the relevance of man and woman as critical components in the family for the attainment of family, community, national, and global peace.”
Many of the guests were excited to hear about next month’s event and want to continue to work with us. One woman who is one of the main coordinators for the Global Humanitarian Summit at Emory University next month wants us to do the Bridge of Peace at their opening ceremonies on Friday, April 13. The fire has been lit, and it is spreading!
Special thanks to Mrs. Moon and her wonderful vision and to President Angelika Selle for conveying that vision to us. I also want to thank the WFWP Georgia staff members Mrs. Nandi Moton and Dr. Ekaette Heyliger, who have been working very hard networking and who invited many of the women who came out that Saturday. God bless you all for your hard work in helping to create world peace!