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Caring Habits Founder to take her message to Rwanda
From The Derrick and News Herald, Oil City, PA , Oct 25, 2006
By Michael Molitoris
A President woman leaves Thursday to take her message of changing the world one action at a time to the African Republic of Rwanda.
Elaine Parke, founder of Caring Habits, teaches that caring actions be turned into life-changing habits and the Pittsburgh Rotary, Rotary District 7300, Rotary District 9160 in central Africa and National Unity and Reconciliation Commission are sending Parke and her message to Africa.
Parke and her color-coded monthly habit-changing program caught the attention of John Nyombayire, director general of La Banque Commercial Du Rwanda SA and past district governor of International Rotary District 9150 in central Africa at Rotary's International's convention last year in Chicago.
"When he came into our booth and saw our simple protocol with colors which (can be understood despite a language barrier) – he understood that peaceful behavior is about these 12 behaviors," Parke said.
The Caring Habits system employs one color each month tagged with a positive message and gives people one positive action to focus on each month. For instance, January is "lend a hand" month, April is "take care of the environment", month. July is "become involved" month, October is "be patient and listen" month, and so on. The monthly colors act as clues to help people remember to practice the month’s specific habit.
While overseas, Parke will conduct a three-day workshop in Kigali, to teach staff from 17 schools how to implement the Caring Habits program in Rwanda. Some of those with whom she will work with include school staff and representatives from Rwanda businesses.
"I will be sharing much of the Oil City story with them and telling our African friends about the work being done in Oil City", Parke said.
Her official invitation to work in Rwanda was issued from Fatuma Ndangza, executive secretary of the Commission for National Unity and Reconciliation in Rwanda. The commission was created in the aftermath of 1994 genocide with a mandate to promote unity and reconciliation as a basis for national healing, sustainable peace and development.
The commission implements its mandate through three strategies:
* By educating and sensitizing the Rwandans to embrace reconciliation, tolerance and peaceful behaviors;
* Through grassroots and national dialogue on matters related to unity and reconciliation and promoting a culture of debate and critical thinking to nurture responsible people;
* And by undertaking research on issues that could be potential areas of conflicts.
An interpreter, Sandrine Umutoni, will assist Parke during her stay, which concludes Nov. 8.
"I'm looking forward to the people the most and watching them create - and also experiencing how they'll look at this and how they'll see it," Parke said.
An Australian woman, Shirley Randall, will host Parke, and she is part of an organization whose purpose it is to get more women elected to government positions in third-world countries.
"One of the things that drives me is the fact that the real epidemic is the epidemic of hate," Parke said. "It's a disease and the way, the real way to tackle poverty and hunger and the huge issues facing the world is to reduce the levels of hate and rage and increase the levels of compassion and caring by motivating people in that direction with positive projects like this.
"When people are treating each other better, everything improves," she said