Luna Jimenez Seminars

Taking inspiration from the well known quote by Mahatma Ghandi “Be the change you want to see in the world,” Change Starts with Me is must-visit site for anyone looking to discover ideas and encouragement in the realm of personal development and transformational change. Nanci, a regular contributor to this site, is part of a diverse team of entrepreneurs, coaches, and business leaders who provide thought provoking essays and blog entries. They write about topics that fall into seven realms: physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, vocational, and financial. Rooted in the idea that everyone is a catalyst for change – individual and collective – this site is replete with tips for identifying and implementing strategies for transformation, on every level.

Feel free to follow along on their site or check out the repostings on this blog.

Since 1966 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on March 21. This day commemorates the Sharpeville Massacre–the day in 1960 when police opened fire and killed 69 people and wounded 180  in Sharpeville, South Africa at the peaceful demonstration against the apartheid “pass laws.” The United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to increase its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination through this proclamation.

This year the focus is on racism and sports. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “We must push for all sports organizations to adopt stringent anti-discrimination policies, as well as frameworks for punishing the perpetrators of racist incidents and justice for the victims [both inside and outside of the stadium].” The sports industry, like any institution, has perpetuated institutional racism and is used to reinforce “race-based” prejudices (often in the guise of nationalism in international sporting events). A brilliant example of how sports can be used to structurally and emotionally interrupt racist divisions, can be seen in the 2009 film Invictus.  This film tells the inspiring true story of how newly-elected President Nelson Mandela seeks to unite his still racially and economically divided country in the wake of apartheid by joining forces with Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa’s rugby team, the Springboks, as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Marking this day in the US, over 700 organizations from across the country are supporting the “March for America” campaign. Thousands are expected to march at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, March 21st to demand immigration reform. For more information about the march visit Reform Immigration For America.

You can find more information about the international call to action at Human Rights Education Associate.  Some tools featured on this site that you can use to bring about an end to racism include learning activities for use with young people to explore the issue of discrimination, developed by Amnesty International; the international basis for intercultural education including anti-racist and human rights education, to increase awareness and use of international human rights treaties to shape international human rights standards into reality; and anti-slavery fact sheets, that present simple, easy-to-use information on past slavery, present-day slavery and bonded labor.

Mark your calendars for March 8, International Women’s Day! This site is laden with information about how IWD is celebrated around the world. A national holiday in countries such as China, Bulgaria, and Vietnam, this is historical day to celebrate the contributions and achievements of women across the ages. If you’ve ever wondered about the history of International Women’s Day, this site provides a chronology tracing the celebration back to its start in 1911. While the goal is for every day of the year to include recognition for the accomplishments of women, International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to feel connected to the daughters, sisters, mothers, and grandmothers throughout our global community.

How will you celebrate your life as a woman?  The lives of women you are close with?  What do you cherish about being female?

I recently visited my father’s youngest sister, who is now in her early 70s.  Despite societal expectations and barriers of gender and class, she has created an independent life for herself that continues to inspire me.  She lives in her own cement house, built on the same site in Aguada, Puerto Rico that my Mama Minga had her wooden home (before Hurricane George had its way with it).

My grandmother, Mama Minga, had the foresight to purchase a plot of land with the settlement from her husband’s accidental death in 1936.  She left that land to her five youngest children–my aunt being the only girl in that bunch.  To make ends meet after her husband died, Mama Minga would bring in piece work (small articles to be sewn by hand for the US garment industry that paid pennies per piece of work) for her and the youngest to sew.

My aunt further developed her skills as a seamstress. Eventually she got a job at a JCPenny’s clothing factory, which supported herself and her son.  Her eyes still sparkle with pride when she talks about the lingerie she made day after day.  The factory moved overseas 13 years ago (for a cheaper labor pool) and she’s lives off her monthly social security check.  You can tell she’s glad to not work in the factory anymore (“I haven’t been sick a day since I stopped working there,” she tells me.  “Too much stress.”).  Now her days are her own and she sews for pleasure.

Although she sews most everything–clothing, curtains, etc.–she has a special place in her heart for making dolls. Treasured patterns of small girls, precisely cut, and lovingly wrapped in paper and plastic and stored in boxes are carefully removed for me to see.  Each pattern has a story.  “I made this one for my granddaughter, Nicole, when she was little.”  “When I was six, my mother made me a Victorian doll just like this one.” “I sold this one for $20.”

Each doll connects her to other girls and women in her life.

She’s now making one for me.

LJS continues to present monthly Transformational Communication training for VOA Oregon. The overall course objective of this engagement for LJS is to provide Volunteers of America Oregon staff with a baseline cultural competency training.: