Great Job, Joy!!

Here’s a great example of what you can do to help build a culture of peace:

Instead of presents on her birthday, Joy Sullivan (above), a new UU-UNO Youth Envoy from Tallahassee, FL proposed having her friends and family make contributions to either an environmental organization or one working on peacebuilding in Rwanda, after being so moved by the film Sometimes in April. After working with the UU-UNO to come up with a few good organizations, she chose Women for Women International, a nongovernmental organization which has empowered over 153,000 women survivors of war to move toward economic self-sufficiency with their year-long program of direct aid, rights education, job skills training and small business development through microcredit loans and other program services. Their Rwanda work is a great example of women overcoming every obstacle and creating new lives after the horror of the 1994 genocide when an estimated 800,000-1 million people were killed in about 100 days. Through their programs, women have received better health care, began their own businesses, learned how to read and write, and learned valuable job skills.

Joy held her birthday party last weekend and through her efforts and the generosity of her friends and family, she was successful in raising $162 for Women for Women International! She is an inspiration to other youth and peace advocates and we congratulate her on a great initiative!