Building a common dream

The vision for my life… Wow, that’s the million dollar question! I will not say it is an easy task to realize or discover what the vision for one’s life is. I think finding your path in life is a constant journey being nurtured by diverse events and people who unexpectedly touch your life and enrich it. The spirit or heart of the vision may remain, but it might also renew as we walk through life with open hearts and minds letting others touch us.

The story of our lives shapes, in a way, the dreams and goals we pursuit. There have been many events that have influenced me and awoke in me a passion and vocation for positive social change. In the strengthening of this vocation my faith and spirituality have played a key role. I’ve been trying to be a faithful Christian for the last twelve years and this spiritual journey has reinforced my commitment to search for social justice and realization of human rights. Thus, faith has been a nurturing element in the midst of challenges faced along the way. Faith has given me strength to continue working towards the building of hope and alternatives to discouragement and crisis created by the global power architecture.

My vision for my community and country is to make it a better place to live in. A place where all people have the same opportunities and realization of their human rights, with equal distribution of wealth and collective pursuit of the integral well being of human kind as opposed to pursuing the so-called development that has destroyed the harmony between human beings and nature. One of my dreams to contribute to creating this place is starting or joining a nonprofit organization that work for the improvement of people’s lives in an integral way, with especial focus on girls and women empowerment. I would like to help people discover their own skills and take advantage of their own resources, so that they can be main protagonists of social change rather than passive beneficiaries of decisions made by others who don’t always represent people’s interests or most critical needs. I consider essential fostering a process of education that provide people enough inputs to develop a critical thinking when addressing their problems and striving to generate creative solutions for them.

This education process would be founded on a participatory and interdependent methodology that provides people a broader understanding of global connections that interfere in the reality they live; in other words, it would allow them to reflect on the structural/root causes of poverty and/or what is called ‘underdevelopment’. At the same time, others overarching points would be education on human rights issues, exercise of citizenship rights, community organizing, sustainability, gender equality, organic farming, food security and food sovereignty, health, and computer/digital literacy, just to mention some.

The world I want to live in is one where all the people have the necessary to live a fulfilled life, with equity in the distribution of wealth, no gender-based violence, where men and women have the same rights and can establish healthy and meaningful relationships, where the culture of violence and war no longer exist and solidarity and collaboration are the predominant characteristics in International Relations, where the engine of progress and innovation is the mere satisfaction of contributing to humanity instead of profiting –as it is today. In this world all the countries on Earth would have an equal voice in International Forums. We wouldn’t have to face the consequences of climate change because economy will no longer be based in endless growth, but instead in a harmonic relationship between humans and ecosystems.

I want to live in a world where people are no longer labeled because of their race, ethnicity or social class. People will be just people (not Hispanic, not Asian, not Latin, not Caucasian, not Native, not Arab, not Indigenous, etc… We will be just human beings!). In this place, cultures and differences among peoples wouldn’t be borders keeping us apart, but opportunities to learn from and enrich each other’s lives. Individualism would be replaced by community spirit and we will all live long, healthy and fulfilling lives. Our current world, which idolatrizes the market economy, will no longer prevails, instead of having humanity at the service of the god market we will have markets at the service of people’s lives. Globalization will not be about goods: It will be about globalizing hope, solidarity and meaningful connections among people. No one will die of preventable, treatable or curable diseases because medicine and pharmaceutical industries will no longer be big profitable businesses, they will be HUMAN RIGHTS. I envision this world a lot like the metaphor of ‘the Kingdom of God’ taught by Jesus Christ.

The route to that kind of world is already being pointed by many courageous people around the world, and women are taking a leading role towards the change.

Where do I insert VOF in this dream of mine? Well, because I’m aware of the power lies and misinformations have in the building and perpetuation of our current unjust world, I would like to contribute to giving voice to those who are marginalized and excluded from the hegemonic system. So, alternative media represents a valuable empowering tool for social movements and grassroots organizations working for social change. Due to the lack of nonbiased news source I’ve grown an especial interest in communication. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have pictured myself pursuing training opportunities in communication or new media, but the possibilities given by Web 2.0 to create alternatives to the monopolistic traditional media and to network people around the world are truly inspiring. George Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”, then I want to be part of that revolution.