Iskra: A Global Peace Collective

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If leaders are incapable of uniting their own people -then what good are they?

A single man can destroy a whole country; even the world. But it will take everybody to fix what he destroyed. Wouldnt you agree?

Tonight we conducted our first Podcast episode for peace. Featuring Mayor Rommel Arnado of the Municipality of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.

From a war-torn, conflict area now a leading, and one of the most progressive municipality in the Philippines. His efforts (especially the 'Arms-to-Farm' program) are known both here at home and abroad -a true warrior of peace.

Together with us is Atty. Warren Lim who work alongside Mayor Arnado making real peace, real .

Thank you for the time and opportunity Mayor and Atty. you gentlemen are truly architects and builders.

In 1892 at Stanford University, an 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education.

They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck, and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight.

They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honor the cheque at the soonest possible.
“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred.

Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised and thanked him profusely. It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.

Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what will happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.

Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. He heard there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted.

Paderewski was relieved.

He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

Unsung Doyens of Peace

WE NEED TO ACT NOW!

Military exercises under way this week between China and Belarus are seen by experts as a response to NATO's growing interest in the Asia-Pacific region and a signal that China's involvement in Europe will continue to grow.

Just one day before the start of this week's NATO summit where Japan and South Korea were major participants, China began 11 days of anti-terrorism exercises with Belarus in Brest, a city on the border with NATO member Poland.

Belarus has been a crucial supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which borders both Belarus and Poland.

The drills, collectively titled "Eagle Assault 2024," were designed to increase military interoperability and allow the two states "to work out the issues of night landing, overcoming water obstacles, and conducting operations in a populated area," according to a statement from the Belarusian Ministry of Defense.

https://www.voanews.com/a/china-signals-defiance-to-nato-with-military-drills-in-belarus-/7696140.html

This is a great platform to learn positive peace Global Peace Index! Thank you for this

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