Dear Friends
Personally I enjoy the messages people send at the end of the year including the ones that update what has been happening to friends and family.
As last year, I am writing to you from Bali in Indonesia.
Yesterday with my colleague from Kwa Zulu Natal, Mpendulo Nyembe, we arrived from Timor Leste. We offered a healing of memories workshop and took the first step of training facilitators.
Timor Leste is also the home of one of our Patrons, Kirsty Sword Gusmão who became the first, First Lady of Timor Leste when it joined the community of nations in 2002. Kirsty founded the Alola Foundation to better the lives of the women of Timor Leste Today Kirsty is Goodwill Ambassador for Education with a particular passion relating to vernacular teaching in primary schools of Tetum and other indigenous languages. Spending time with her was one of the highlights of the visit to Timor.
In Timor Leste, I was struck by the relevance of the idea of "popular" and "unpopular" victims and of the shifting sands of how and who should be regarded as victims. No one disputes that political prisoners who were tortured should be regarded as victims. But what about those whose fathers were Indonesian soldiers and mothers, Timorese women. Today these young people struggle to get their identity documents as well as with their own identity.
As I travel the world I am often moved by the stories I hear but there are a few that imprint on my soul. Bishop Marc Andrus invited us to begin to work with the Diocese of California in addressing old and recent wounds. including those among same gender loving people. We were told a story of how at the height of the AIDS pandemic a dying man called an interfaith response to AIDS. He told them that when he realised he was dying he called his parents who arrived on the next flight. They knelt at the end of his bed and prayed that he would die quickly so that evil would leave this world. We in the faith community carry heavy responsibility for the pain we cause.
On a more positive note, as our workshop began today, two Papuan women who are learning to be facilitators spoke of the enduring and transforming effect of the workshop they attended a year ago. "I was dead and now I am alive."
In 2011 providing we have adequate funding we will complete the extensions to our new house which will give us a large meeting room and more office space.
15 years into our new democracy, accelerated by the world economic crisis, and ironically even by our hugely successful world cup, traditional donors are one by one ending their support for the NGO community. South Africa has now overtaken Brazil as having the most skewed income distribution in the world.
We too in IHOM are being told by very old friends that their support is coming to an end. At the same time we have gained some new friends.
Requests for healing of memories, in South Africa, in Southern Africa and across the world continues to grow. To survive, we will regretfully not be renewing the contract of our COO, Mr Charles Obol. We thank him for his sterling contribution and wish him every success in the future.
In 2011 we will seek to market ourselves to government and the private sector to offset our work with refuges, those with AIDS and prisoners where we need to find funding.
However to survive beyond 2011 we need help from all our friends.
Please consider giving the Institute a gift this Christmas which incidentally is tax deductible.
I pray that a number of you will also help us through a monthly stop order.
Thank you for believing in us and for your contribution. We are grateful..
Pleas see account details below
For the Institute the highlight of 2010 was the Southern African Conference we partnered with the World Council of Churches, AACC and LWF where we focussed on ancient, old and recent wounds and how we are called to respond. We have laid the groundwork for greater work throughout Southern Africa in 2011.
The highlight of 2010 for me personally came on May 1 when so many of you participated physically, electronically or spiritually in the Mass of Thanksgiving on the 20th anniversary of my bombing with prayers for all victims of violence and torture.
I am grateful to each of you for all you do to reverence the image of God in others and in yourself and to care for the created order.
As we like to say: All people have a story to tell and every story needs a listener.
As those of us who are Christian, celebrate the birth of the Christ child, of Emmanuel - God with us, we are all reminded of the fragility and vulnerability of the human family and indeed of Mother earth.
I join with all my colleagues in wishing you a restful and peaceful time. May we all return with strength and vigour to make a better world in 2011.
with deep respect and gratitude
Michael Lapsley,SSM
--
Institute for Healing of Memories
Director: Father. Michael Lapsley SSM
5 Eastry Rd,
Claremont, 7708
Cape Town
Republic of South Africa
Tel: +27-21-683 6231
Mobile: +27-(0)82-416-2766
Office email: info@healingofmemories.co.za
Website www.healingofmemories.co.za
Payment may be made as follows:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Mowbray
Branch code: 02-49-09
Name of Account: Institute for Healing of Memories
Type of Account: Current
Account Number: 071341455
Swift Code: SBZAZAJJ
Please identify your payment clearly – thank you
Please also fax/email copy of your deposit slip to:
021-683 5747; email: avra@healingofmemories.co.za
