Charity, Bill and Randy...together with the radioman :-)
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
Hurray, we are in Africa
All right,
we made it to Nairobi in fine shape although the plane ride was not as nice as our previous
flight from Dallas to Amsterdam.
It was a crowded flight; I don’t think there was one empty seat on the Jumbo Jet.
Since our bags had been checked to Entebbe we headed to the gate where we were told we could get
our gate pass for our final leg on Kenya Airline to Entebbe, Uganda.
At the gate we were told the door to the plane had been shut and we would be rebooked for the first flight out in the morning.
That wasn`t what what we wanted to hear after our two long flights to arrive in Africa. We elected to spend the night at the airport rather than leave and try to find a hotel so late at night when we would just have to return early in the morning.
I had checked prices earlier in the week and prices were very steep so we decided to stay at the airport.
We called Edward’s friend Ronald who was supposed to pick us up in Entebbe. He had already made the
hour drive to meet us and I had to tell him we missed our flight. He thanked us for calling him and said
he would come back in the morning at nine o’clock.
He told us that Edward was sick. We had known that Edward had been ill but he had been confident he would be better by the time we got there. We hope he is recovering and will be fine. He has Ronald helping him organize our tour.
I am glad I had Ronald’s phone number.
We have been killing time catching a few little cat naps and just ate a meal at the only restaurant open
in the middle of the night. We did get into a few good conversations on the last flight and have been
passing out information all along the way.
But hurray, we are in Africa.
We are tired but we are in good spirits.
we made it to Nairobi in fine shape although the plane ride was not as nice as our previous
flight from Dallas to Amsterdam.
It was a crowded flight; I don’t think there was one empty seat on the Jumbo Jet.
Since our bags had been checked to Entebbe we headed to the gate where we were told we could get
our gate pass for our final leg on Kenya Airline to Entebbe, Uganda.
At the gate we were told the door to the plane had been shut and we would be rebooked for the first flight out in the morning.
That wasn`t what what we wanted to hear after our two long flights to arrive in Africa. We elected to spend the night at the airport rather than leave and try to find a hotel so late at night when we would just have to return early in the morning.
I had checked prices earlier in the week and prices were very steep so we decided to stay at the airport.
We called Edward’s friend Ronald who was supposed to pick us up in Entebbe. He had already made the
hour drive to meet us and I had to tell him we missed our flight. He thanked us for calling him and said
he would come back in the morning at nine o’clock.
He told us that Edward was sick. We had known that Edward had been ill but he had been confident he would be better by the time we got there. We hope he is recovering and will be fine. He has Ronald helping him organize our tour.
I am glad I had Ronald’s phone number.
We have been killing time catching a few little cat naps and just ate a meal at the only restaurant open
in the middle of the night. We did get into a few good conversations on the last flight and have been
passing out information all along the way.
But hurray, we are in Africa.
We are tired but we are in good spirits.
Nakupenda...
We are sitting on the KLM airliner headed to Amsterdam.
The plane is only half full and the three of us have monopolized the back two rows of our section. As I write Charity and 2TT’s Bill are practicing pronunciation of Swahil,i words Bill has brought along.
As we were going over Bill’s list the flight attendant stopped by and expressed an interest in what we were doing. By the end of her ten minute visit with us we had explained why we were going to Africa and parts of each of our stories.
We shared information and our flyers on the Journey of Hope, The ELLA Foundation, and Dream One World. Dream.
One World’s flyer is about Edwards’s orphanage.
Speaking with her about our reason for traveling to Africa was very cool.
We have another fan and supporter. She then told others attendants and several stopped by to wish us well.
This morning at the hotel where Bill and I spent the night in Dallas we were joined by Charity, Rais
Bhuiyan and Gennifer Kaye. Rick Halperin was supposed to have joined us but his Dean at SMU had
called for an emergency meeting so Rick was not able to come.
I have known Rick for over 20 years and it is always good to see him, so I was disappointed but understood.
When we return from Africa, Charity and I will participate in the 12th annual march against executions on October 22 in Austin. Rick plans to meet us there so at least I will see him on this trip.
It was great to meet Rais, a man who has really impressed me with his story of forgiveness and
reconciliation. It was a real honor. It was also great to meet Gennifer Kaye, a human rights activist with
Amnesty International from Dallas.
Gennifer is a friend of Rick and Rais and has become friends with Charity through Facebook. Charity had dinner with them last night before Bill and I arrived.
The trip has started like clockwork, like it was a trip that was meant to be. Several more donations have
come in from James, Jenni, Aleksandra and Peter since the trip started.
James and Jennifer also paid for lunch and breakfast respectively.
I was worried about our connection once we got to Nairobi because we only had one hour to catch our next flight to Uganda, and since we would have to retrieve our luggage, go through customs and then catch the last flight of the night to Entebbe, Uganda it was a tight schedule.
Fortunately the KLM agent was able to check our baggage all the way to Uganda. So we had no longer to worry.
I was able to talk with Randy Gardner before we got on the plane.
He will arrive in Uganda about 36 hours after we do.
We will be the four musketeers at that point and our team will be together.
Also we were able to talk with Sister Margaret who serves with Sister Helen Prejean.
She wished us God’s blessing on our Journey. If God be for us who can be against us? Although I missed the Faith in Action program in Anchorage yesterday, my preacher, Ron Meyers, talked about our Journey and hold a prayer for it.
Amen.
How wonderful to have a pastor who feels the same way about the death penalty as I do,
and he is supportive of my work?
Blessings to all who read the Journey of Hope diary and blog.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
This trip was meant to be, each of our life’s journeys has brought us to this point.
It was no accident.
The stars are all in alignment.
Peace and Love,
Bill
Nakupenda: Swahili for I love you – Thanks 2TT’s
The plane is only half full and the three of us have monopolized the back two rows of our section. As I write Charity and 2TT’s Bill are practicing pronunciation of Swahil,i words Bill has brought along.
As we were going over Bill’s list the flight attendant stopped by and expressed an interest in what we were doing. By the end of her ten minute visit with us we had explained why we were going to Africa and parts of each of our stories.
We shared information and our flyers on the Journey of Hope, The ELLA Foundation, and Dream One World. Dream.
One World’s flyer is about Edwards’s orphanage.
Speaking with her about our reason for traveling to Africa was very cool.
We have another fan and supporter. She then told others attendants and several stopped by to wish us well.
This morning at the hotel where Bill and I spent the night in Dallas we were joined by Charity, Rais
Bhuiyan and Gennifer Kaye. Rick Halperin was supposed to have joined us but his Dean at SMU had
called for an emergency meeting so Rick was not able to come.
I have known Rick for over 20 years and it is always good to see him, so I was disappointed but understood.
When we return from Africa, Charity and I will participate in the 12th annual march against executions on October 22 in Austin. Rick plans to meet us there so at least I will see him on this trip.
It was great to meet Rais, a man who has really impressed me with his story of forgiveness and
reconciliation. It was a real honor. It was also great to meet Gennifer Kaye, a human rights activist with
Amnesty International from Dallas.
Gennifer is a friend of Rick and Rais and has become friends with Charity through Facebook. Charity had dinner with them last night before Bill and I arrived.
The trip has started like clockwork, like it was a trip that was meant to be. Several more donations have
come in from James, Jenni, Aleksandra and Peter since the trip started.
James and Jennifer also paid for lunch and breakfast respectively.
I was worried about our connection once we got to Nairobi because we only had one hour to catch our next flight to Uganda, and since we would have to retrieve our luggage, go through customs and then catch the last flight of the night to Entebbe, Uganda it was a tight schedule.
Fortunately the KLM agent was able to check our baggage all the way to Uganda. So we had no longer to worry.
I was able to talk with Randy Gardner before we got on the plane.
He will arrive in Uganda about 36 hours after we do.
We will be the four musketeers at that point and our team will be together.
Also we were able to talk with Sister Margaret who serves with Sister Helen Prejean.
She wished us God’s blessing on our Journey. If God be for us who can be against us? Although I missed the Faith in Action program in Anchorage yesterday, my preacher, Ron Meyers, talked about our Journey and hold a prayer for it.
Amen.
How wonderful to have a pastor who feels the same way about the death penalty as I do,
and he is supportive of my work?
Blessings to all who read the Journey of Hope diary and blog.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
This trip was meant to be, each of our life’s journeys has brought us to this point.
It was no accident.
The stars are all in alignment.
Peace and Love,
Bill
Nakupenda: Swahili for I love you – Thanks 2TT’s
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Monday, 3 October 2011
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Another Journey begins...
Another Journey begins....
This may be the most important Journey of my life and for the "Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing".
I boarded a plane in Anchorage, Alaska and am on my way to Seattle, Washington, to meet up with Bill Babbitt. During our 4 plus hour lay-over we will meet for lunch with James Basden.
James and Bill have a common bond. Both of them had brothers that were executed.
James has been very supportive of our African Journey of Hope.
From Seattle, Bill (2TT’s Babbitt) and I will fly to Dallas, Texas where we will stay overnight, and then head for Uganda tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow morning we will meet up with Charity Lee who will accompany us on this Journey.
The three of us will have breakfast with Rick Halperin, Journey of Hope board member, dear friend, and Human Rights professor at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) , and Rais Bhuiyan, the man who forgave his attacker in the 9/11 aftermath killings that took place in the Dallas area.
Several others will be joining us, hopefully Stan Allridge, whose brother James was executed by the state of Texas in 2004. I stood behind Stan, Sister Helen Prejean, Dave Atwood and others and watched as
the state of Texas put poison into James blood and killed him.
Stan also watched another brother be executed in 1995.
I have never met Rais before so I am looking forward to that.
And then Charity, 2TT’s and I head for Uganda.
We have to fly to Amsterdam, then to Nairobi, Kenya and from there on to Entebbe, Uganda, where we will meet up with death row exoneree Edward Edmary Mpagi. I haven’t seen Edward since 2007 on the Texas Journey of Hope.
Randy Gardner will join us Uganda several days later.
This is a dream come true for all of us. Not only for Bill, Randy, Charity, Edward and I but also for Kathy Chrism who has been helping Edward from afar for many years now to build his orphanage/ school in Uganda.
Kathy runs the organization "Dream One World" and her dream is being fulfilled with our Uganda trip.
There are few things I have done in my life that I would consider as God inspired, as this trip.
It came together on short notice and the support fell into place. The organizing has gone like clockwork as if all the stars were in line for this great event.
We will be taking our message of love and compassion for all of humanity and helping Edward not only to
abolish the death penalty in Uganda, but also helping "Hands off Cain" and the " World Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty" while being in Rwanda where we will meet with the African delegation trying to bring about abolition there.
Then we go to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission of justice and reconciliation where we will be speaking in a large church before coming home.
More later.
Love and Peace, Bill
This may be the most important Journey of my life and for the "Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing".
I boarded a plane in Anchorage, Alaska and am on my way to Seattle, Washington, to meet up with Bill Babbitt. During our 4 plus hour lay-over we will meet for lunch with James Basden.
James and Bill have a common bond. Both of them had brothers that were executed.
James has been very supportive of our African Journey of Hope.
From Seattle, Bill (2TT’s Babbitt) and I will fly to Dallas, Texas where we will stay overnight, and then head for Uganda tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow morning we will meet up with Charity Lee who will accompany us on this Journey.
The three of us will have breakfast with Rick Halperin, Journey of Hope board member, dear friend, and Human Rights professor at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) , and Rais Bhuiyan, the man who forgave his attacker in the 9/11 aftermath killings that took place in the Dallas area.
Several others will be joining us, hopefully Stan Allridge, whose brother James was executed by the state of Texas in 2004. I stood behind Stan, Sister Helen Prejean, Dave Atwood and others and watched as
the state of Texas put poison into James blood and killed him.
Stan also watched another brother be executed in 1995.
I have never met Rais before so I am looking forward to that.
And then Charity, 2TT’s and I head for Uganda.
We have to fly to Amsterdam, then to Nairobi, Kenya and from there on to Entebbe, Uganda, where we will meet up with death row exoneree Edward Edmary Mpagi. I haven’t seen Edward since 2007 on the Texas Journey of Hope.
Randy Gardner will join us Uganda several days later.
This is a dream come true for all of us. Not only for Bill, Randy, Charity, Edward and I but also for Kathy Chrism who has been helping Edward from afar for many years now to build his orphanage/ school in Uganda.
Kathy runs the organization "Dream One World" and her dream is being fulfilled with our Uganda trip.
There are few things I have done in my life that I would consider as God inspired, as this trip.
It came together on short notice and the support fell into place. The organizing has gone like clockwork as if all the stars were in line for this great event.
We will be taking our message of love and compassion for all of humanity and helping Edward not only to
abolish the death penalty in Uganda, but also helping "Hands off Cain" and the " World Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty" while being in Rwanda where we will meet with the African delegation trying to bring about abolition there.
Then we go to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission of justice and reconciliation where we will be speaking in a large church before coming home.
More later.
Love and Peace, Bill
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Follow the signs and your Journey will be blessed....
By: Charity Lee..The ELLA Foundation
“It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” ~~ Wendell Berry
Life is a journey…we have all heard variations on this theme at some point in our life. As children we approach this journey called life as an adventure. In our innocence we assume that all adventures are magical, mysterious, and fun. Then, if we are destined to do so, we grow up. As we walk further down the path of life we learn that adventures are also perilous, grueling, and fraught with tangible despair. We often get lost along the way. There are no simple directions to and from point A and B. Our paths are full of twists and turns. Sometimes we are so lost we feel there is no way we will ever find our way back home, no way we will ever find ourselves again.
I am not now, nor ever have been, a religious woman but the first time I held my son, then eight years later my daughter, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there is a power in this world that is far greater than anything I had ever imagined or acknowledged before and that this power had the amazing ability to create life. I was just blessed enough to be the vessel for this amazing creation I held in my arms, cradled to my chest. And not only could this power create life it also had the power to create all-consuming, mind boggling, fiercely death defying, unconditional love appear in my heart and soul in the blink of an eye. Every time I heard my children laugh I had more proof of this power at work in my life. Every time I saw one of their beautiful smiles more proof was granted to me, a woman of no religious conviction or fervor at all. I did not need a religion. I was given something better…life and love.
Thirteen years after my first real experience of the divine nature of life my life and my love were destroyed in the fifteen minutes it took my son to murder his sister. With seventeen thrusts of a knife I lost the two stars I relied upon to guide my adventure, my journey. I could not navigate the ship of my life anymore. My stars had gone dark and I was drowning in a sea of grief, despair, rage, and pain. I spent many days and nights yelling in rage at this power who gave me my stars only to take them away. I yelled myself into exhaustion and finally into humility. I begged this power to give me a sign, any sign, to navigate my ship by again. I did not want to drown, did not want to die full of grief, despair, rage, and pain. I made a promise to Ella the night she died that I would live life as best I could for her. It was important to me to keep this final promise to her but I had no idea how to do this without her in my arms. So I begged with every ounce of my soul to be given a sign. And my wish was granted.
The night I let go of my anger and begged for a sign my daughter came to visit me in a dream. She sat on my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck, and told me to stop thinking with my brain and start thinking with my soul. She told me to stop looking at life with my eyes and to look instead with my heart. She told me there are signs everywhere that mark the good and bad paths we can walk upon in this crazy, mysterious, magical, painful adventure of life. All I had to do was remember love and the signs would be clear. She hugged me, kissed me, whispered in my ear she loved me. I woke up in tears and have been able to see the signs that mark my path ever since. I have faith in love so I have no choice but to have faith in my signs. I follow them no matter if I want to or not. I can promise you my signs have pointed out to me many painful paths I have not wanted to walk down. But I do because I know all my signs point to a greater and even more amazing love than the love I have in my life now.
Which brings me to the point of this blog…
Two months ago I was having a conversation with a professor of mine. I met with her to tell her I was not going to enroll in the MSW program this year because in the year since I put in my application I decided to start The ELLA Foundation™. She wanted to know more so I told her what the ELLA is about and what I’d like to see it grow to be. After hearing my story she asked me if I knew a man named Bill Pelke or had ever heard of Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing. I said, “No.” She said, “You should look it up.”
That was it. Three sentences, one question, two statements, twenty-seven words. But those short simple words struck a chord in my soul so I filed them away and went about my day. I Googled Bill and Journey of Hope the next day. I spent a hour on their website reading stories and news articles. This was no small barely born ELLA Foundation™. This was an international and well known nonprofit whose members were all somehow affected by murder and were all opposed to the death penalty. Like all websites there was a ‘contact us’ button so I decided to listen to the notes that had strummed my soul strings and contact Bill. I hit the ‘contact us’ link and sent an email. Just because I am a little type-A I decided I would call too…a number was listed after all…and left a voicemail too.
I assumed I would receive some generic computer generated reply back, assumed there was no way a President and Co-Founder who traveled the world to tell his story and spread the message of love and compassion for all humanity would have the time to personally contact me. I should know by now never to assume anything. I heard from Bill in less than 24 hours, we talked, I sent him a video of a speech I gave, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bill likes to say that he does not know how to open doors but he knows how to walk through them when they are opened. I always laugh and say that he knows how to open doors just fine. The only difference in our techniques is he is quiet and gentle both in his knocking and his walking through. When I see a door that needs to be opened I have no problem kicking it down and making my entrance as loud and obvious as possible if need be. Different methods; same result. The door is open and ready to walk through.
Because I trusted and followed my signs and Bill graciously opened his door when I so persistently knocked at it, The ELLA Foundation™ and Journey of Hope have walked through many doors together and now have the opportunity to walk through another.
Journey of Hope was asked by Mpagi Edward Edmary to come to Uganda to aid his efforts for the abolition of the death penalty in his country. Edward spent eighteen years on Uganda’s death row and was exonerated only because his alleged victim was found to be alive. Since his release he has spent his time working to build a school and orphanage for the children of death row and other inmates who were forced to leave school when their family member was incarcerated.
When Maria Donatelli, Coordinator for the World Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, was made aware that the Journey of Hope was going to be in Uganda during the 9th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty, she invited the Journey of Hope to attend a two day conference in Kigali, Rwanda sponsored by the WCADP and Hands Off Cain.
From Rwanda Journey of Hope goes to Nairobi, Kenya for several meetings.
Bill asked if I wanted to go to Africa with Journey of Hope as a Journey of Hope member and representative of The ELLA Foundation. Of course I said yes. We leave for Africa on October 3, 2011 and return home October 19, 2011. We will speak in middle schools, high schools, college classes, and at rallies. We will visit Uganda’s death row for men, the women’s prison, and family members of death row inmates. We will share our stories of pain and loss and spread the Journey of Hope message of love and compassion for all mankind and ELLA’s message of Empathy, Love, Lessons, and Action™.
We are joined on this trip by Bill Babbitt and Randy Gardner
.
Bill speaks around the world about his brother Manny who was executed in 1999. Bill has raised over $2000 so this Journey can take place.
Randy founded Back to Basics Organic Farm and Ranch in honor of his brother, Ronnie Lee Gardner, who was executed by the state of Utah by firing squad on June 18, 2010.
These two brothers will share the torture that their families went through because of state sanctioned executions.
If you had told me the night my daughter was murdered that I would one day be the Founder and Executive Director of an international violence prevention and human rights nonprofit foundation I would have looked at you like you were crazy. You may look at me like I am crazy because I decided to live my life based on signs from a power we cannot see with our eyes.
I ask you now…which one of us is crazier? Open your heart and follow your signs my friends and your journeys will be blessed…
Stay tuned to The ELLA Foundation™ for blogs about our shared Journey of Hope.
Journey of Hope
Dream One World
World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Hands Off Cain
Murder Victims Families for Human Rights
Back to Basics Organic Farm & Ranch
“It may be when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.” ~~ Wendell Berry
Life is a journey…we have all heard variations on this theme at some point in our life. As children we approach this journey called life as an adventure. In our innocence we assume that all adventures are magical, mysterious, and fun. Then, if we are destined to do so, we grow up. As we walk further down the path of life we learn that adventures are also perilous, grueling, and fraught with tangible despair. We often get lost along the way. There are no simple directions to and from point A and B. Our paths are full of twists and turns. Sometimes we are so lost we feel there is no way we will ever find our way back home, no way we will ever find ourselves again.
I am not now, nor ever have been, a religious woman but the first time I held my son, then eight years later my daughter, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there is a power in this world that is far greater than anything I had ever imagined or acknowledged before and that this power had the amazing ability to create life. I was just blessed enough to be the vessel for this amazing creation I held in my arms, cradled to my chest. And not only could this power create life it also had the power to create all-consuming, mind boggling, fiercely death defying, unconditional love appear in my heart and soul in the blink of an eye. Every time I heard my children laugh I had more proof of this power at work in my life. Every time I saw one of their beautiful smiles more proof was granted to me, a woman of no religious conviction or fervor at all. I did not need a religion. I was given something better…life and love.
Thirteen years after my first real experience of the divine nature of life my life and my love were destroyed in the fifteen minutes it took my son to murder his sister. With seventeen thrusts of a knife I lost the two stars I relied upon to guide my adventure, my journey. I could not navigate the ship of my life anymore. My stars had gone dark and I was drowning in a sea of grief, despair, rage, and pain. I spent many days and nights yelling in rage at this power who gave me my stars only to take them away. I yelled myself into exhaustion and finally into humility. I begged this power to give me a sign, any sign, to navigate my ship by again. I did not want to drown, did not want to die full of grief, despair, rage, and pain. I made a promise to Ella the night she died that I would live life as best I could for her. It was important to me to keep this final promise to her but I had no idea how to do this without her in my arms. So I begged with every ounce of my soul to be given a sign. And my wish was granted.
The night I let go of my anger and begged for a sign my daughter came to visit me in a dream. She sat on my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck, and told me to stop thinking with my brain and start thinking with my soul. She told me to stop looking at life with my eyes and to look instead with my heart. She told me there are signs everywhere that mark the good and bad paths we can walk upon in this crazy, mysterious, magical, painful adventure of life. All I had to do was remember love and the signs would be clear. She hugged me, kissed me, whispered in my ear she loved me. I woke up in tears and have been able to see the signs that mark my path ever since. I have faith in love so I have no choice but to have faith in my signs. I follow them no matter if I want to or not. I can promise you my signs have pointed out to me many painful paths I have not wanted to walk down. But I do because I know all my signs point to a greater and even more amazing love than the love I have in my life now.
Which brings me to the point of this blog…
Two months ago I was having a conversation with a professor of mine. I met with her to tell her I was not going to enroll in the MSW program this year because in the year since I put in my application I decided to start The ELLA Foundation™. She wanted to know more so I told her what the ELLA is about and what I’d like to see it grow to be. After hearing my story she asked me if I knew a man named Bill Pelke or had ever heard of Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing. I said, “No.” She said, “You should look it up.”
That was it. Three sentences, one question, two statements, twenty-seven words. But those short simple words struck a chord in my soul so I filed them away and went about my day. I Googled Bill and Journey of Hope the next day. I spent a hour on their website reading stories and news articles. This was no small barely born ELLA Foundation™. This was an international and well known nonprofit whose members were all somehow affected by murder and were all opposed to the death penalty. Like all websites there was a ‘contact us’ button so I decided to listen to the notes that had strummed my soul strings and contact Bill. I hit the ‘contact us’ link and sent an email. Just because I am a little type-A I decided I would call too…a number was listed after all…and left a voicemail too.
I assumed I would receive some generic computer generated reply back, assumed there was no way a President and Co-Founder who traveled the world to tell his story and spread the message of love and compassion for all humanity would have the time to personally contact me. I should know by now never to assume anything. I heard from Bill in less than 24 hours, we talked, I sent him a video of a speech I gave, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Bill likes to say that he does not know how to open doors but he knows how to walk through them when they are opened. I always laugh and say that he knows how to open doors just fine. The only difference in our techniques is he is quiet and gentle both in his knocking and his walking through. When I see a door that needs to be opened I have no problem kicking it down and making my entrance as loud and obvious as possible if need be. Different methods; same result. The door is open and ready to walk through.
Because I trusted and followed my signs and Bill graciously opened his door when I so persistently knocked at it, The ELLA Foundation™ and Journey of Hope have walked through many doors together and now have the opportunity to walk through another.
Journey of Hope was asked by Mpagi Edward Edmary to come to Uganda to aid his efforts for the abolition of the death penalty in his country. Edward spent eighteen years on Uganda’s death row and was exonerated only because his alleged victim was found to be alive. Since his release he has spent his time working to build a school and orphanage for the children of death row and other inmates who were forced to leave school when their family member was incarcerated.
When Maria Donatelli, Coordinator for the World Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, was made aware that the Journey of Hope was going to be in Uganda during the 9th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty, she invited the Journey of Hope to attend a two day conference in Kigali, Rwanda sponsored by the WCADP and Hands Off Cain.
From Rwanda Journey of Hope goes to Nairobi, Kenya for several meetings.
Bill asked if I wanted to go to Africa with Journey of Hope as a Journey of Hope member and representative of The ELLA Foundation. Of course I said yes. We leave for Africa on October 3, 2011 and return home October 19, 2011. We will speak in middle schools, high schools, college classes, and at rallies. We will visit Uganda’s death row for men, the women’s prison, and family members of death row inmates. We will share our stories of pain and loss and spread the Journey of Hope message of love and compassion for all mankind and ELLA’s message of Empathy, Love, Lessons, and Action™.
We are joined on this trip by Bill Babbitt and Randy Gardner
.
Bill speaks around the world about his brother Manny who was executed in 1999. Bill has raised over $2000 so this Journey can take place.
Randy founded Back to Basics Organic Farm and Ranch in honor of his brother, Ronnie Lee Gardner, who was executed by the state of Utah by firing squad on June 18, 2010.
These two brothers will share the torture that their families went through because of state sanctioned executions.
If you had told me the night my daughter was murdered that I would one day be the Founder and Executive Director of an international violence prevention and human rights nonprofit foundation I would have looked at you like you were crazy. You may look at me like I am crazy because I decided to live my life based on signs from a power we cannot see with our eyes.
I ask you now…which one of us is crazier? Open your heart and follow your signs my friends and your journeys will be blessed…
Stay tuned to The ELLA Foundation™ for blogs about our shared Journey of Hope.
Journey of Hope
Dream One World
World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Hands Off Cain
Murder Victims Families for Human Rights
Back to Basics Organic Farm & Ranch
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