Source: Star-Telegram Dallas
By BOB RAY SANDERS
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
In a day when too many people in Washington are talking about the possibility of bombing Iran and too few are discussing how we can end the genocide in Darfur, one group gives me hope with its continued emphasis on saving humanity rather than destroying it.
This past weekend, I once again joined thousands of others on the Dallas City Hall Plaza to support the efforts of the Aga Khan Foundation, an Ismaili Shia organization that for years has funded educational, agricultural, medical and economic programs in undeveloped countries, especially in Asia and Africa.
There is something special about being in the midst of people committed to helping change the lives of millions around the world by bringing water to small villages, setting up schools (including for girls), establishing microfinancing opportunities for impoverished families and fighting the disease and hunger that plague so much of the Earth’s population.
Sunday’s event was the annual PartnershipWalk; the theme was “Walk the Walk: Change the World.” It attracted more than 7,000 people from various cultures.
What encourages me is that each year the walk gets larger and more diverse and includes more public officials who help carry the message of hope.
Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert helped lead the walkers through downtown. He was joined by Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (who has participated each year), Irving City Councilwoman Beth Van Duyne, and Mayors Pat Evans of Plano and Becky Miller of Carrollton.
Event organizers use it not only to raise money for a good cause but to educate the public on what it is like to live in countries where people are struggling amid droughts, wars, hunger and total economic devastation.
During the past 10 years, the walks in Dallas and other major cities have raised more than $26 million to support programs from Tajikistan and Pakistan to Afghanistan and East Africa. All the money raised goes to projects in those countries served.
It is amazing to watch very young children and teenagers teach others about the necessity of aiding people who are desperately in need.
They are not sitting around waiting on the politicians to authorize funding or figure out a way to intervene in some of the world’s disastrous situations.
They are actively making a difference.
Many of the youth have volunteered to work in some of the programs overseas.
Give me the PartnershipWalk any day over the constant saber-rattling on one hand when it comes to Iran, for example, and the absolute complacency on the other in dealing with the disaster in Sudan.
I’ve grown tired of the war talk, and my heart remains heavy at the thought of the suffering around the world. And even though we can’t save every individual dying from natural and man-made catastrophes, we can save some.
As the AKF teaches, the “some” whom we are able to help can then help someone else.
This human chain of caring is strong, and we can see results from every drop of financial and moral support invested in those places that so many people never think about.
When I think of the hundreds of billions of dollars used to wage war, to destroy property and life, I contemplate what could be done if only a tenth of that money were used to improve human conditions rather than to make them worse.
We are making progress because each year more and more people understand that it is easier to make and keep the peace by helping others help themselves than by dropping bombs on them.
As the name of the annual walk implies, we can “partner” with individuals and organizations around the globe and change the plight of a generation, and generations to come.
I know it can be done because it is being done.
Every time a group of young and old people come together to raise money and awareness for those poor people so many have forgotten, we make can make a difference, even if it’s just a little bit at a time.
Ismailimail 