The Words of the Balcomb Family
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The Words of the Balcomb Family |
Ambassadors for Peace from many fields of endeavor, together with NGO representatives, journalists, and young leaders, attended this first meeting, where they were inspired to become protagonists in the first big GPF in Argentina. Among those leaders there were the City Hall Director of Health, Dr. Alonso, who offered all his support to organize an interesting social action program in the town; the anthropologist Juan Carlos Yapura, a descendant of the original native people of that region, who held a special ceremony invoking the protection of the ancestors; and Pastor Juan José Sánchez, who offered a prayer.
At the end of the meeting Mr. Claudio Nastar, a specialist in drug prevention, offered an inspiring testimony about his participation in the first Latin American GPF held in Paraguay in July 2008. "When they started to prepare this kind of festival in Paraguay, there were fewer people than are here today. Can we do it here? I think so, if we take responsibility for it, because we do not want drugs, AIDS, or alcohol abuse in Tucumán," he said.
The following day, a group of enthusiastic young people cleaned up the main squares and parks of Tucumán using cleaning supplies offered by the municipal authorities. While doing this the participants were distributing pamphlets to explain about the GPF initiative and motivate people to become an active part of it. The idea was to inspire people in each area: political, cultural, religious, media, and NGOs, with the consciousness of being part of one global family under God, which is the main vision of the Global Peace Festival.
The UPF Regional Director, Gerardo Alcaraz, is the main promoter of this local GPF, together with Pastor Rubén Contreras from Buenos Aires, who participated in the Global Peace Festival in Brasilia in December 2008 and explained the purpose and the meaning of the social action project. Starting from Independence Square, the young people cleaned the area around the Museum House, where on July 9, 1816, a small group of patriots declared the independence of Argentina. Following an interesting itinerary, the activity ended with a donation of clothing to the local children's hospital, Hospital Niño Jesús.
The young people who participated in the service activities wore shirts with slogans: "Celebrating Life" and "A Global Family under God." Also they carried signs such as "For Tucuman without drugs, AIDS and alcohol." During the activities many people noticed them and approached them expressing their surprise and appreciation for the initiative. "It's beautiful what you are doing!" "Everybody should do what you are doing!" and "I want my children know all about this," people said.
At the end, the participants gathered to reflect on their experiences during the activities. Many ideas emerged about the main Global Peace Festival in August and how to inspire people with the vision of One Family under God.
"This was only the seed. We have to show that all this has great value. This has to be multiplied," reflected Mario Agostini, leader of an NGO who arrived from another province (Salta) to participate in the kick-off of the GPF in Tucumán.
Translation by Rosetta Conti Castellán