International Peace Award Winner at LMC

It continues to amaze me that we have such great opportunities to meet amazing people here at the LMC! Today I met the current winner of Community of Christ's International Peace Award winner. She joins an impressive list of others who made significant contributions toward peace throughout the world like Jane Goodall and two Mennonites - John Paul Lederach and Howard Zehr. (click on the title above to see the complete list of previous award winners)

I was not told her real name to protect her personal security, but she is a medical doctor from Darfur. She is the daughter of a Sudanese farmer who was passionate about the right of women to get education. Her story is exceedingly grim, with all the possible horrible things that happened to the people of Darfur. Though her childhood was a happy one, early on, it turned into a complete nightmare when civil war and corruption overtook the country. She continued to treat her patients until she finally had to flee for her life. She received asylum here in the UK a few years ago and has written a book about her experiences which will be released soon. Her compassion for her people is palpable. I found her to be an impressive woman in every way. EAS