International Bulletin - July 1998
Hope For: Inspiration For: Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association
There is an old Hawaiian saying "KuKulu Kumuhana." That expresses a feeling of emotional and spiritual fusing in a common cause. Anytime a family, friends or larger community aspire together, becoming emotionally and spiritually involved in a common purpose, then this quality of solidarity may come into being. Mutual concern, sincerity, sensitivity and responsiveness to others feelings - all these intangibles, help bring about "KuKulu Kumuhana." I have gathered some thoughts together and I hope my words will bring about a spirit of "KuKulu Kumuhana" within our meeting.
In being together in this way I feel we experience something greater than ourselves. I know this was the feeling experienced by the women who came together so long ago in Honolulu and these are the same feelings that gave birth to our organization.
We are not the same as the women who came together in the beginning, we are not at the same place and we are now going somewhere different - but quite simply, we all have the need to believe in the value of what we are doing to create the future we yearn for.
Those women who came together searching for ways of generating peace and understanding between people of different cultural back grounds were not only far seeing but also forward thinking - for their actions laid the path that we are following today. Their inspired direction has made us accountable today to the words of our constitution: "To strengthen the bonds of peace by fostering a better understanding and friendship among women of all Pacific and Southeast Asian areas." They are inspiring words and they move me to focus on the values that have kept Pan Pacific alive and aware all these years. I especially love "To strengthen the bonds of peace". These words are dynamic and could act as a catalyst for a changed world. But the reality is that before we talk about peace at an international level we need to be at peace with ourselves; to be convinced of the truth of our beliefs and to have a commitment to those beliefs.
The greatest discovery of my life was finding out that we can alter our lives by altering the attitude of our mind. To see with new eyes: an eye opening piece of philosophy from Proust: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands - but in seeing with new eyes!" Let me explain what I mean by giving an example.
In New Zealand at the end of the 60's the door was opened wide to the Pacific Island people and they flocked in! They were in search work and education for their children. The ultimate result of this influx was work for women of Samoa, Tonga, Niue and other islands in laundries and factories - where ever there was menial labor to be done there you would find Pacific Island women!
It seemed important, to some of us, to bring together Pacific Island women so they could aspire to move into the total society rather than being left forever on the periphery. PACIFICA, the Pacific Women's Council was born and today, 21 years later there is evidence at every level of education, health, social work, business and government departments that Pacific Island women have achieved their aims and objectives. There is so much power in women working together that they can no longer complain of being excluded!
The world is divided into three groups of people: The over-whelming majority who don't know what is happening; The many who watch things happen; and the few who make things happen!
I like the story about a small child who watched a sculptor working on a slab of marble: day after day the child watched as the sculptor worked. And then at last there came a day when the child drew in his breath and looked at the sculptor in amazement and said "But how did you know there was a lion in there?" I know there is a loin in Pan Pacific but it is up to us to bring it out!
The main purpose behind any organization whether it is a community effort or a national program should be to seek goodness of life for people. The question always to be answered is "did we meet the human needs of the people?"
Those leaders in our organization must remind themselves over and over again that as the question changes so too does the answer. The old answers won't do! When it comes to women's issues we are all from developing nations. All of them are far more interdependent than ever before in human history. Women realize that when we try to cope with problems like AIDS and drug abuse; we face it with the destruction of our forests and other matters relating to the environment. We know that today's critical problems can only be solved by working together across national boundaries - the lives of people of New York or New Delhi, of Bangkok and Beijing are forever interlinked - I know women's organizations - millions of women together can change the world. Our organization has power that we have not even used and the power is not somewhere else! It is in our heads and hands.
Pan Pacific is made up of the women of 18 countries, all different, all unique, but all bent on fostering understanding and peace and finding ways and means of making the words "To develop co-operation among women for the development of social, economic and cultural conditions" real.
For all human beings it is essential to each ones development to know they are of worth. When people know they are of value, their perception of themselves is lifted and transformed - with this transforming feeling and new found freedom comes responsibility. We should be continually moving towards new places and establishing new bases from which to grow. An essential starting point for action is the opening up and development of our own hearts and minds - one becomes empowered and through empowerment we are able to know ourselves fully, express our potential, value others and become an active participant in life, rather than a passive receiver who waits for things to happen. But the empowerment, while starting with the individual, cannot be achieved alone.
The realization of one's full potential is achieved through relationships that are encouraging, nurturing and concerned. The kind of relationships that exist within Pan Pacific. There is no simple solution as to how the advancement of women can be implemented, but there are guidelines and far reaching goals to be achieved. To ignore them now and to place them on the agenda for another time is to continue a negative cycle.
The sooner we all take responsibility for our own development the sooner we shall realize that we are all striving for Peace and Understanding. (To quote from the 1994 Platform for Action) "I like this resolution! "that action by non-governmental organizations could include supporting woman peace educators and peace researchers and encouraging women to become involved in grass roots activities related to peace and resolution of conflicts."
It could also include campaigns to encourage women and men to serve as informal educators in bringing up young people in an atmosphere of compassion, tolerance and trust - in peace. To achieve an atmosphere of compassion, tolerance and trust there first has to be a deeply held belief in the equality of men and women of course.
Without strong and powerful women's organizations at all levels, mainstreaming women's concerns into public policies and programmes will be ineffective. The existence of vital and active women's organizations, like Pan Pacific, provides a basis for reaching out from international national and community levels to mobilize women for change. I feel this organization is a learning organization and I would like to feel we are driven by our search for values in our vision for Pan Pacific South East Asia Women's Association.
As I said in the beginning; one of man's basic needs is a sense of belonging and NGO's can provide a network of understanding and in our reason for being lights us up and of course the repercussive effects are endless. Once the heart is lit - the possibilities exist of lighting up many more.
At this point I'd like to share something that lifted my heart and soul and I hope it will lift yours too! It is an excerpt from Nelson Mandela's 1994 Inaugural Speech that expresses beauty in wisdom:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you NOT to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people don't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of god that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Last Modified: November 29, 2002