Taking Bold #FootstepsforPeace on Nowruz Holiday
On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Roots of Peace (1997-2022), we continue our efforts to take bold footsteps for peace.
The year began in the onion fields of Quiche, Guatemala, where we established irrigation systems to water orchards which were once held hostage to war. These thriving onion fields now make the farmers cry with tears of joy!
Our #FootstepsforPeace continued to Washington, D.C. as we met with the Office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Department of State, Pakistan Embassy and other stakeholders to advocate for the importance of continued funding for Afghanistan—a country 80% dependent upon agriculture for jobs.
Our #FootstepsforPeace continued to the redwood trees of Muir Woods, Marin County, California, as we told the story of the origin of the United Nations. Following the atrocities of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt envisioned a world without war and convened the original delegates of the United Nations to gather beneath the towering redwood trees which he dubbed ‘the temples of peace’ on May 19, 1945.
The rings of the redwood trees represent the circles of life, and are nature’s way to remind global citizens to preserve the one earth we share. The United Nations Charter was signed at the War Memorial Building in San Francisco on June 26, 1945.
The month of March began in the minefields of Karabakh, Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Russia to the north. In tandem with the International Eurasia Press Fund and the Azerbaijan National Mine Action (ANAMA).
Taking bold #FootstepsforPeace, I detonated eight (8) anti-tank mines.
As we remove one landmine and plant one grapevine, it is an ‘act of peace’.
The 25th Anniversary Celebration of Roots of Peace was held at the private home of Alfred Nobel, who made his fortune in oil in Baku.
He also invented dynamite, which was the same substance used to detonate the landmine in the field.
The journey of #FootstepsforPeace continued to Abu Dhabi to attend the FORBES 30/50 Summit gathering women of substance worldwide.
Princess Angelika of Poland, a FORBES 30 under 30 recipient, proudly became the Patron of Roots of Peace, as she launched her ONE MINE, ONE LIFE campaign. Please join us on the first day of Spring, March 21, 2022 @ 3:00pm/PST for the virtual launch at the UN Commission for the status of women.
On International Women’s Day, I launched the Roots of Peace Women of Wisdom Circle (WWC) calling forth $1 billion to support Afghanistan.
Our call was heard by Frank Yih, pioneer of affordable microchips of Silicon Valley and the semiconductor industry at Fairchild in the 1960’s. Frank has committed to leaving a legacy in the billion-dollar pledge for underprivileged farmers in Afghanistan in memory of Nancy Yih, his loving wife and mother of his children. His funds will be used to turn swords into plowshares along the borders of China and Afghanistan—an 47-mile border (76km) both countries shared at Wakhan Corridor.
Together, may we continue our efforts to take bold #FootstepsforPeace, as I continue my journey to Scotland on the occasion of UN Landmine Awareness Day. The Asia Scotland institute will host me, as I share stories of success in training over 8,000 farmers in Afghanistan since the new regime took Kabul in August 2021. As a women led CEO of an American non-profit, my footsteps for peace are dedicated to my grandchildren and future generations to live in a world without war.
And may they beat their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
--The Isaiah Wall, Roots of Peace Garden, United Nations, NYC