24 Greencoat Place, London., SW1P 1RD, UKtel: 020-7798 6000, www.f-4-f.org, F4F@london.iofc.orgIssue 38 December 2004

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In this issue...International Council visits Eastern Europe 1 Orange Opinion 5Beyond Moldova and Canada 2 Jose Carlos on his Ukrainian experience 7 News about CN 3 Impressions from Russia 7 A miracle or regularity? 4 UK News 8

Foundations for Freedom Newsletter

The International Council held its first meeting inEastern and Central Europe 30 October - 4 November inRiga, Latvia. Prior to the meeting Council members visitedteams in Ukraine (L’viv, Kiev, Crimea), Russia(Novosibirsk), Moldova (Chisinau), Romania (Baia Mare)and the Czech Republic (Prague).

For some of us it was our first discovery of EasternEurope, and for all it was the first visit to particular cities.Wegained a great respect for our friends who live and operatein difficult conditions that reflect their different histories. Wealso came away with appreciation for the friendship extendedto these friends from Scandinavia and other IofC teams.

Getting there was our first challenge. Very sadly,three of the Council who come from India and Africa werefinally unable to join us because of visa problems. Happily,Peter and Rosemary Thwaites represented the Council ontheir visit to Moldova and Peter attended the Riga meeting.Campbell Leggat was also able to accompany Claire toNovosibirsk.

We were inspired by the youthful vigour of thegroups we met and by their hopes for the future. At everypoint we were given detailed care and generous hospitality.Because of our varied backgrounds and contexts, we feltwe had much to learn from one another. The world alsoneeds, even depends on, friendships that reach across thepaper frontiers and for this reason it is worth the struggle,and the expense, of crossing them.

The teams and groups we met came together mostlyafter participating in the “Foundations for Freedom” programthat has existed since 1993. Some 36 “Changing Courses”have been held to date and more connected programs suchas anti-corruption seminars. Within a very short time theyhave developed active teams that reach out to their societiesand try to take responsibility. Many from the region are alsocarrying a growing share of IofC’s global work, most notablyat Caux. All this is immensely encouraging to us. It is hard tobelieve that it is only 15 years since the end of the ColdWar.

From our brief visits, we noticed a number of positivetrends which we believe are fundamental principles for teams

INITIATIVES OF CHANGE INTERNATIONAL COUNCILIN EASTERN & CENTRAL EUROPE

and groups anywhere:1. Those teams which are growing in their

effectiveness depend on people with a maturecommitment who give priority to their searchfor personal change and spiritual depth. Thiscomes through training and experience, regular timesof quiet (despite the daily challenges), personaldecisions and adherence to moral standards. Wewere especially struck by the commitment of severalteams who meet weekly to share their hopes, plansand personal struggles. At one such meeting, oneasked, “How do you keep the sparkle alive?” – agood question for us all.

2. Reaching out to other teams in the regionstrengthens one’s commitment. We found astrong wish for regional cooperation, particularly asexpressed by the Moldovans. The last RegionalMeeting there came up with the idea of a “RegionalCaring Group” for Eastern Europe. While it is notyet clear how to give this practical form, severalindividuals from the region have already made a startby going to support colleagues in other countries.

3. There is value in distinguishing between ‘being’and ‘doing.’ We were interested to see how ourfriends in Moldova give priority to sustaining spiritualand personal issues through their “IofC Community”meetings, and address program issues through theirNGO, “New Civilisation.” In the end it is only onthe basis of the spiritual growth of individuals andcommunities that programs of social change can besustained.

4. Offering vision and care to leaders in theprivate sector, academic life, NGOs andgovernment is a necessary step of growth fora team’s effectiveness. In every situation visited,we were grateful for active links with significantcommunity, civic and educational leaders. In Riga,we were taken to the Cabinet Minister responsiblefor social integration and discovered a potentialpartner who offered us valuable insights into current

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Bhav in Cambodia

issues. Of course, no human being is more important than another, but if we are to have an impact on the future ofour country, we must expect to reach out to those who set its course.

We also took note of several needs which different teams thought merited attention. Here we are reflecting back ideas andtrends that we have noted, which have our broad support, while acknowledging that others know more that we do abouthow they can best be carried forward.

1. More of the responsibility for Foundations for Freedom (F4F) programs could be carried within theregion. East Europeans now participate regularly on the faculty of F4F courses, but more effort should be givento training of trainers. At some point soon courses should perhaps be offered in local languages as well. Meanwhile,holding the courses in English has its own particular attraction.

2. Increasing opportunities for exposure to global IofC teams and initiatives over the long term should bea priority. There is an eagerness for opportunities for international experience among many who wish to takegreater responsibility for IofC. The participation with AFL, training/outreach programs in UK, Australia, Canadacould be extended.

3. Regional teams should take more financial responsibility. All initiatives require financing and ideas for a“regional initiative budget” are being developed. The possibility that some might be able to earn their living byworking with IofC programs - for example, by facilitating courses which are self-funding - is being considered.

Contributions could also be sought to support IofC’s work in Eastern Europe and to enable some people in theregion to give their full time to this work on a more long-term basis.

4. More visits from outside the region would be greatly appreciated, especially from those who feel called togive support for several months at a time, where invited. We would encourage anyone from outside the region totake seriously the possibility of responding to this need. At the same time there is also growing capacity for suchvisits between the teams within the region.

5. Teams should seek to find clear “headline purposes.” An outward-looking orientation is seen as an essentialcomponent of an effective team life. “What are we aiming to do as a team?” is an important question, even if theanswer does not come quickly.

6. The gratifying evolution of teams into communities that bring together people of all generations shouldbe reinforced. This happens naturally as the students and young professionals who initiated many of these teamsgrow older. This process will enrich team life and enable them to offer more to their countries.

In gratitude for all the inspiration and encouragement we have received,Mike Brown, Chris Evans, Leena Khatri, Claire Leggat, Dick Ruffin, Peter Thwaites.

NG: Chimo, Stela! How are you doing in Canada andwhat are your first impressions about it? SA: My first impression about Canada….mmmm…big,different and cold (outside)?. But that isnot all. I am here to be a part of a won-derful family – the Priors and of a world-wide family which is IofC. The peoplethat I have met so far made me feel verywelcome and I am very grateful to all ofthem. NG: Why did you decide to take thechallenge to work in IC-Canada? SA: At first it sounded like a big ad-venture, being a part of a new culture andexploring new ways of relating to peoplebut as I started to learn about the work Iwill be involved in here I discovered thatit is far beyond that. NG: How do you think your experi-ence will contribute to your personal andMoldovan growth/development?

SA: I don’t know whether you will believe me or not, butit has already started to influence me personally. I started tothink more about my life, about things I have done and things

I would like to do, people that I hurt andpeople that have hurt me…So far, I havetried to work on my behavior, I did mybest in understanding others, but I haverealized that I cannot entirely forgive some-body. Now, I may confess that I’ve startedto learn how to do that. Enough aboutmyself ?.Besides the administrative tasks, the ac-tivities I will be doing here will be mostlyrelated with working on the Schools andYoung Adults Programs. We are in theprocess of building a young team inCalgary that includes working and learn-ing from other young people from differ-ent places: Alejandro and Monica Ramirezfrom Mexico, two from Burundi, KarenBambonye from Montreal, and Lily

Beyond Moldova and Canada(Online interview with Stela Artemi)

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Mudahemuka – Ottawa and a Canadian, Sharon Hopkinsfrom Nova Scotia. I am also planning on studying more aboutEthical Leadership Training so that when I come back Icould take it to universities as a course for 4th or 5th yearstudents. So, all the knowledge and experience I will accu-mulate, with the help of God, will be brought home to mycountry. NG: What do you enjoy doing the most during your jour-ney? SA: I enjoy people, they are so different and you canlearn so many things from sharing their life stories and listen-ing for their experience. The most important thing is not onlyto have the ears to listen but to have the power to under-stand and to see yourself in each story. And I also think thatwhen I will start developing the training for the Indigenousyoungsters I will be the happiest person on earth to knowthat I’ve made a little difference in somebody’s life. NG: What are your future plans in Canada during 1 yearof work experience? SA: Accumulate knowledge and give everything that I haveto offer for contributing to the awareness of young peoplefor building a better place to live in for them and for thegenerations to follow. I know that sounds very ambitiousbut at least that is what I will try to do. ? NG: What do you think you will learn new from the Ca-nadian friends and what inspires you the most? SA: I have already learned what it is like to be a memberof a community, to go to church and to have around youpeople that care and people that can offer you support onyour most difficult time. What inspires me the most? I guessis the trust of people and the openness with which they treatone another. This is the way a world should be like: friendly,warm, supporting, peaceful. And we should work towardsthis. Each of us can make a difference, starting with our-selves. NG: What do you think Moldovan and Canadian com-munities have in common and how can we enlarge it? SA: First of all I don’t think Moldova has a community(besides the one I am a part of – Civilizatia Noua). And thatis a result of the hard life we had to face being under occu-pation and not trusting each other. And it will take a lot oftime to build trust in people. And that is where we shouldstart acting: beginning with our families and friends, continu-ing with our neighbors, work environment and the churcheswe attend. NG: Do you miss Moldovan friends? SA: I do miss Moldova, even more than I thought I would,I miss even the MaxiTaxi and the Central market, becausethat is a part of our culture and our development. But evenmore I miss my friends, CN, my family and Greta (my dog).And sometimes it is good to be away for a while, becauseyou start looking for your friends in other people and this isthe way new relationships are built!Stela Artemi from Moldova NG: Send our warm greetings to all-Canadian friends and

I wish you to have learning moments in your life! We sup-port you and miss your smiling face!

(Interviewed by Natalia Ghilascu, Moldova)

And more news from Moldova...When I just started to write this article, I first felt a

bit lost because I did not know where to start. Then I feltsomewhat proud because it seems there has been quite alot happening in our team since September. That’s good.

First, many in our Moldovan Community have foundthemselves on various crossroads in their lives - professional,spiritual... As you might know, most of us have just enteredtheir “mature life” - jobs, careers, sometimes families - andit is even more rewarding to acknowledge that IofC/F4F/CN is more than “a hobby to fill up the free time” for us, butis rather a need, which exists along with all the commitmentsand duties “the mature life” brings. Of course people in theCommunity have various priorities at the moment - someare more involved and some are less, and in order to keepthe Community fire burning we yearly select a Car(ry)ingGroup (CG). For those who have not read it in the MoldovanBulletin, this year the CG gathered six people - Elena(Korneichuk), Natalia, Olga, Violeta, Victor and Vitalie.

We started by analysing the questionnaires that ourCommunity members filled in. The questions were the sameas a year ago, and the whole idea behind that was to seewhat people think and feel about, need from and are readyto give to the Community. On average people felt betterabout our Community this year compared to the last one,which means that the last CG has done a more or less goodjob! It also helped us, the new CG, to see what are theindividual needs and expectations of people and, of course,we tried to respond to these!

Liliana Botnaru has revived the practice of ‘SpiritualEvenings’ - a dedicated time when those, who can gather todiscuss a specific issue, or just share whatever is importantin their lives. Sometimes these evenings are thoughtful anddeep, sometimes motivating, sometimes just fun, but alwaysvery pleasant and ‘served with’ tea and all kind of pies ‘fromMother Clava.’

Additionally, Victor has organised a ‘Deep SharingMeeting’, where most of us gathered to listen to others sharingwhat is important in their lives now, in all respects - spiritualtravel, professional life, relationships, etc. The idea of havingsuch a meeting came by acknowledging that most of us knoweach other for years, but we know very little about everypersonal individual spiritual journey and even currentpriorities! Unfortunately, there was not enough time for allof us to share all these, that is why we shall give it acontinuation and, depending on how people feel, we mightwant to make these meetings regular.

And we still meet at least once a month in a more orless organised way and with a more or less defined agenda.Of course we still gather at birthday parties, food parties,

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tea parties, Heres parties, etc. Among these we are alsotrying to not fall out of all F4F network processes likeRegional Meeting, Caux, ELW, CC’s, etc.

As for plans, Natalia is planning to gather Communitymembers to watch various movies and find inspiration inthem or the discussions that will follow; Victor has promisedto take those willing for a hike to Frozen Waterfalls whenthey finally freeze! Slava shall probably revive the ‘HowAre You’ bulletin.

Generally, we in CG thought that the only way tokeep Community developing in terms of quality ofrelationships and not losing people or sliding into a ‘club ofpeople who just have good time together’ is to try to ‘beuseful’ to our members, to try to mobilise the necessary kindof support to those in need, especially that often it is available,we just do not know it...

Lots of Health and Love to all of you,Victor Parlicov on behalf of the Moldovan Community

A MIRACLE OR REGULARITY?

Once a clever men said that something great couldbe seen only from a distance. It is beginning of December, Iam sitting in my office and try to remember the events, whichare more than three months old. You can ask me whathappened at that time? From one point of view – nothingextraordinary. Just another course for IofC newcomers,organised by Lviv team. But there were two points, whichmade it different from all the other courses. It wasmultinational and very multinational, if I could say so. WhenKees Scheijgrond proposed us to invite young people fromdifferent neighboring countries we even could not imaginethat this idea would be so fascinating. If I am not mistaken itwas the first Changing Course of such a type and it wasreally great. So, apart from 21 participants from Lviv region,we had 3 from Poland, 3 from Romania, 1 from Moldovaand even 2 from Georgia, a fascinating combination!

And there was one more particularity in this coursewhich I have been asked to cover in more details. During allthe previous years of discussing with our friends from abroadpossibilities of preparing conferences, seminars, round tables,etc. we always had to answer the question “What are yourmain needs?” Always we had to reply: “Money”. It wasreally so, but it was not easy do admit this and not easy tosay. We had ideas to realise, we had people who couldwork hard to realise them, but every time we had to solvethe same question – could our ideas be realised if we wouldnot manage to find financial support? It was and it is nowvery hard in our country (as it is, to my mind, in all thecountries of former USSR) to get money from sponsors,because of our legislation, which does not stimulatesponsorship. We realised that money we asked for fromIofC did not grow from money-trees or money-bushes. This

money had been received from different people who hadearned it by their hard work and we feel ourselves like someparasites using the work of other people to satisfy our“whims”. I can not say that we were just sitting and waitingfor money from abroad, but even our government institutionsmanaged to raise different bureaucratic obstacles on ourway, or just refuse to support our efforts. Year after yearthere was no chance in this situation, year after year all ourefforts were in vain or had only such small results that theywere not at all in balance with the efforts we had made toachieve them. But we continued trying, we continuedbelieving that one day our work would bring the result. Andsuddenly we faced a kind of a miracle.

But could we name it like that ? I think not. It wasthe result of long lasting and persistent work. We cancompare it with the work of a man who put the seeds in thesoil, takes care of them and now gathers the crops. Iremember a talk with Brian Thirlaway at the Conferencethis summer when he, in his usually witty manner, introducedme to one of his friends as a man, whose main goal in life isto bring as much people from Ukraine to Caux as possible.

Some other clever men (not the one from thebeginning of this article) said that in every joke is a part oftruth. These seeds - people of different ages, socialbackground, political orientation, being put in a soil of Caux,being fed with fertilizers of love, honesty, unselfishness andwatered with love gave sprouts of change in their souls. Andthese changes, maybe not so visible, led them not only tofinancial support of the Changing Course, but they wereeager to send their children to take part in it. Money camefrom Staryj Sambir and Lviv, Chervonograd and Rozluchand all together, including sincere gifts from our Crimean,Romanian and British friends, they made it possible to coveralmost all expenses. Was the result of these donations worthof being done? For sure, it was, and not only because peopleparticipating in the Changing Course had a possibility to learnsomething new, to make new friends and because not onlyLviv team has now new active members. Many of thosebeing at the Changing Course take now an active part in“orange revolution”, they are struggling with love and honestyagainst corruption and falsification. They will be the buildersof new society, actually they already are. Could we not beproud because of this?

Andriy Vovkanych (Lviv, Ukraine)

And this is what the participats of the coursehave to say... Ioana (Baia Mare, Romania): ‘We gatheredall kinds of gifts which were given to us as tradition, customs,individuality and personality. It truly was an internationalfriendship building. This coming together was also a challengebecause I found that everyone needs a chance to grow inmind, body and spirit. I received back a new spirit of unityand interaction because of my new experience at R&D time.Everyone was unique there. Each of us had something tooffer and to learn from other parts. I discovered that I am

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ready to change myself. That was a week, full of friendshipand joy, days filled with work, playing and learning, takingpart and seeing new things - a week to inspire us.’

Natalie (Lviv, Ukraine): ‘Each Thursday wegather with all the Ukrainian participants, who took part inRozluch course. I’m so glad that we keep meeting! Be-cause, while on course I liked everyone so much that I couldnot even imagine what it would be like, if I’d never see themagain. But thanks to Yara and Zoryana we have OUR dayevery week! We meet in the Institute, just talking about aweek, which passed, sharing our thoughts on different top-ics. Also we have our R&D time with candles that we gotfrom our Changing Course. In the near future we may haveour private cabinet, where we can have our own keys, couldleave our own books, papers etc, and there is an idea thatwe may possibly register as an organisation. Now we canbring new people, get acquainted them with everyone, withour rules, duties and traditions.

This course has changed me a lot. Now I see my-self different to what I was before. I started becoming anice person with a different attitude to life. I became morepatient and understanding… and, in fact, I do not want tocount everything good what is now inside me.’

Dorina (Baia Mare, Romania): ‘When I leftRozluch I was happy - I was going to see my family, mykids and my husband. Yet somehow I felt my heart wasoverwhelmed with regrets - I was leaving that cold, but, atthe same time, warm place, I was leaving my new friends,and dear moments we shared together. I was somewhereon the border between joy and sadness. It is interesting how,so carefully inside, our memory preserves the beauty andrejects the ugliness. Only nice and refreshing recollectionscome to my mind, which make me feel so nostalgic. Thetruth is that, in one way or another, everything from thatcourse gives me such a state of comfort and confidence andlifts my desire to continue even more. Especially at times,when I perceive the aggression of the world around me stron-ger and fiercer, I feel like running away back to Rozluch,among those ‘spiritually clean’ young people, in that areawith no pollution of any kind. Fortunately this is only the‘idealistic Me’, the vulnerable part, because most of the timeI am a fighter, who is permanently looking for solutions. ButI am definitely richer and stronger than I used to be and Ifeel the source of all these changes deep inside me. I regardit both as a gift and something I looked for and I strived for.’

It’s 9 am, Saturday. I haven’t got enough sleep, but Iwoke up… writing letters in my head for the third morningafter a conversation with girls from Britain over the phone.

I’ll start, finish and even in the middle of the letter Iwould point out a few times, that these are ONLY MYthoughts, my impressions, my emotions. Only mine! I amneither trying to impose them, nor to argue with anyone. I

am just saying what I feel, think, experience, understandand don’t understand…

It’s not a secret for anyone what is the current situationin Ukraine. A couple of words to start with and in officialway (so that later I can dress it up with impressions andthoughts) - In 2004 in Ukraine there were presidentialelections. According to the law, if none of the candidatesmanaged to gain 50% + 1 vote, Central Election Committee(CEC) announces second round of elections.

So, what has happened?! During the first round ofelection two leaders were identified – V. Yuzhenko and V.Yanykovich. CEC was counting votes for a looooooongtime, quite strangely though - during the election night 96%of bulletins were counted and Yanykovich won. The rest4% were counted over and over again and finally a fewdays later (!!!) Yuzhenko managed to win with a slight gap.The second round of elections was announced for 21 No-vember - everyone is preparing hard, agitations, blah-blah-blah, on Sunday we are expressing our will once again, andon Monday people appeared on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (In-dependence Square – Central Square in Kiev).

So, what has happened?! …I’ll say a couple of wordsabout Victors. In the first round we had 26 candidates (twowithdrew later), and I really had no one to choose from.‘Mmmm, may be Moroz (socialists’ leader)? Elite enough…Or Kinakh (leader of businessmen and industrialists)? Intel-ligent enough… Enough… Enough for what?! For a presi-dent of my country it is not enough!!!’ There was one woman(talking about gender equality), but I would keep quiet notto use curse words. No choice! Not at all! Just 2 Victorsremained. Their battle was the main battle during the wholepre-election campaign.

One has a striking, imposing appearance (unfortu-nately, had, sorry for being cynical), well-spoken. Looksnice… A banker (ex-head of National Ukrainian Bank)…Ex-Prime Minister (though, according to my memories, Iwasn’t impressed by him)...

Second Victor is the current Prime Minister, ex-gov-ernor of the most industrial area in Ukraine. Frankly, I don’tlike him at all. Even though, quite a good manager, he man-aged to raise the district (him or any other powers), but (!)was convicted twice … the third time his conviction wasexpunged (or was just cancelled). What country in the worldhas a convict as a person representing one of the branchesof power?! Oh, my goodness, the way he speaks …(Henrich Bell in his “A house without a host” describes asecondary character – Glym, whose speech is perceivedby neighbor – as if the words are rolling out as heavy balls,a pause, then a knife is thrown out, a pause, a ball, a pause,a knife…)! Finishing up “the court theme”… people werenot informed why he was convicted (either a huge robberyor anything else), people are guessing themselves (or not?)– well, for rape…

This whole very complicated scheme of relationshipwas brought to the level of ‘East – Yanykovich, West –

Orange OpinionOrange OpinionOrange OpinionOrange OpinionOrange Opinion

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Yuzhenko’.My choice… My choice was defined not because I

chose Yuzhenko, but because I was against PresidentYanykovich! It is the key definition – I was againstYanykovich. In his program he proposed a double citizen-ship, Russian as an official language… My mother, for 13years, was determined that all her life she was speakingRussian and would keep on speaking it. But when she heardthose points, she called it “a treat” for Russian speakers(Kychma was also trying to make Russian an official lan-guage – trying … for 10 years). As for the double citizen-ship, that is pure populism. Taxes, election system, peoplepersonification – the system should change TOTALLY!!!

Here are the events of the ‘orange’ week. On 21November, when the results were not ready yet, not even insight (apart from foreign pole-stations), in Donetsk peoplewere celebrating victory of their former governor. Howcome?!

Frauds… (My nephew Timothy already knows whatit is, and he is only 7!) I wouldn’t even talk about adminis-tration power. I would also keep quiet about inequality ofagitation. Keeping quiet about me being “an a**hole” – it isthe way how our Prime Minister called us, those who thinkdifferently from him. Keep quiet… Keep quiet… Keepquiet… I wouldn’t approve Yuzhenko’s actions, if in realitythere were any frauds on his part, but I think, it was mainlyan opposition to resist impudent and unprecedented actionsof our authorities. There’s a video, there are witnesses thatour authority deceived us all (* the original word used ismuch stronger than ‘deceived’)! Bulletins were put in stacks.Ink was disappearing (let’s remember Lenin). Observers,teachers from universities, were standing in front of ballotboxes and students were showing their bulletins before put-ting them in. The most appalling thing was ‘unfastening cer-tificate’ – people who come from other cities were votingunbelievable number of times!

Andthat was truth, my truth, and the truth of thosewho were at the main square. Youth?! Yes, youth. But some-how, old ladies wearing head-scarves, who can be only fromremote villages, are standing there too, shouting ‘There arelots of us – we cannot be broken!’ Old men are dancing tothe music of VV and Skripka (*Ukrainian pop-band and asinger) – getting warm and shouting ‘Yes!’ People … oldand young. And obviously young people! THERE ARE NOCHILDREN THERE! No, there are a few – those whocome with their parents, with orange balloons, going to theMcDonalds to eat fries in Happy Meal and ‘vareniki’ inShvidko (*Ukrainian fast-food chain) – to get warm. I wasa hippie sometime ago, and it seemed that the idea of‘woodstocks’ was there at the square. But without drugsand alcohol. No, I am lying, yesterday I saw couple of drunkpeople (they were standing in the corner, not to disturb),and I was shocked – because for the whole week I hadn’tseen any drunk people at all! I’m (!) the one who likes beer,wine or anything stronger in a good company – I didn’t

have a drop during the whole time. I didn’t want to! Atmo-sphere charges with kindness and warmth. People are smil-ing. There’s no police AT ALL! No violence! There wereemotions, euphoria, but I don’t know how to express thatspirit to you, parts of it, so that you may understand that theproblem is not in people. The problem is in authority.

Since everything is kind of piled together, I’ll try toexpress thoughts, facts, impressions in paragraphs.

… CEC meeting. 4 members out of 15 refused tosign the protocol that Yanykovich won. Snow on the darkstreet…

… World community doesn’t regard this election tobe true. It seems that now we are associated not only withChernobyl and ‘Dinamo – Kyiv’…

… Orange ball in the game ‘Dinamo’ – ‘Roma’.‘Dinamo’wins. That’s cool. Apparently, ‘Dinamo’ supportsYanykovich…

….The Square. About 8 pm. It’s heavily snowing. Thehat is wet and my feet are freezing. Marusya is standing nextto me without a hat and wearing high hills (she came byherself, nobody forced her). She’s smiling. ‘Go, get warm!’‘No, I’m with people’.

… Leh Walenza. Only in Caux I got to know (to myshame) that he has a Nobel prize for peace. A thought –‘bad’ people are not invited to Caux. The Square - LehWalenza is on stage admitting us, Ukrainians, and the sky isso blue. That’s the first time I see what the self-organisationof people is. A thought - this is something like the highestform of anarchy. Kropotkin’s? I don’t know. It is a pity itworks only in crisis situations…

… Ruslana – the winner of Eurovision (You are com-ing to us for this event, aren’t you?) is declaring a hungerstrike against the decision of the Central Election Commit-tee…

… The tent camp. In the middle of Kreshatik on theroad, people are fetching clothes, food. There’s loooots ofeverything. An old lady is offering tea or bullion to a stu-dent…

…It is impossible to watch TV. The 5th channel, thatstruggled to be objective, is so unprofessional. The 1+1channel is not broadcasting any news for two days already.Inter channel was stuffed up with dry noodles by people.Two days later, 1+1 and Inter started highlighting the news!The truth has broken through! Could it be the breakthroughin journalism? Will the honest mass media exist all the time?We are given honest news! Could this be happening?!....

… The Square. -7C. It’s snowing, as usual. OlegSkripka is singing with all his strength for the whole down-town. But, hey, if he’ll break his voice, how is he going tosurvive?! He is singer. Such things do not pass just like this…

We are together! You cannot stop freedom! Orangemood. Orange Kiev. Orange thoughts.

I am at the Square not because I’m for Yushenko.Not because I am against Yanukovich. I am against beingdeceived! Could my vote and the votes of others be bullsh*t?

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I respect the choice of those who voted for Yanukovich. Onecould understand them, he increased pensions (budget suf-fers), he is a good manager (for the sake of those who arebehind him)… I am really accepting their choice. And I wouldsubmit, if he becomes a President of Ukraine, but if it is donehonestly!

To finish, I would like to give a general theoretical opin-ion by my father (oh, it is so hard to have a father, who is anuclear–physicist!). These are three points of his attitude to-wards the situation that exists: 1. The power had discrediteditself. 2. Well, it would not be that nice to have the formerprisoner as the guarantor of the Constitution and representa-tive in other countries. 3. The elections were faked and thenation - deceived.

I am glad I live now. I am glad to be Ukrainian.I am glad to feel as one at last! I am happy to be close tothose people. I don’t know how it will end, I don’t know. Iam glad that there were no accidents and clashes for six days!And we are the nation! A real one! And we have a civicsociety!!!

So, that happened to be a big letter… I loveyou. And again, that is just my own opinion.

Anyuta(Anna Borzakovska is part of the Centre for PoliticalEducation in Kiyv. This letter has been written on 27November, and then translated and edited from Russian. Theoriginal letter is available upon request and Anna’s approval)

In the meantime...I found a cherishable piece of reality in Ukraine,

a fantastic country with a great potential, moving, strugglingfor a better future. Conscious of the difficulties of change, butnevertheless putting heart and soul on it. Ukraine for me is nolonger a place where you have to wear a pullover an a jacket,because the hospitality and joy of its people make of it one ofthe warmest places on earth.

I am immensely grateful to those who made ofthis journey a profound experience of friendship. Angela andSasha, Kostya and Anna, Igor, Sasha, Vlad and all the peoplewho shared thoughts and ideas with me. For ten days wewitnessed the demonstrations at the Independence Square inKiev and visited Vlad Devakov at the Institute of EvangelicalStudies. Anna Borzakovskaya and Kostya Ploskiy kindlyexplained me the activities of the Centre for Political Educationand its programmes.

In Crimea Angela Staravoitova invited me to theHeidelberg Centre, a German-Ukrainian organisation thatlooks after former concentration camp prisoners. Igor andSasha, the funniest and nicest Crimean guys I’ve ever metgave me a fabulous tour through Yalta, Sevastopol and otherbeautiful sites of the Crimean coast. Last, but not least, SashaShimina in Kiev provided me with a fantastic explanation ofUkrainian politics and culture.

Discovering the other is an essential element incommunication. In Ukraine I learnt that, despite the political

differences, people are able to express their beliefs in apeaceful atmosphere. As many other Eastern Europeancountries, Ukraine is experiencing a difficult transitiontowards democracy. Back in London I realise how importantit is to build bridges between nations. Especially in tensemoments like this, our sentiments and thoughts must be withUkrainians. Despite the political and social uncertainty, allthe people I met had a smile on their face. It is now our turnto show them that they are not alone and that another worldis possible if we all work together.

José Carlos León Vargas (Mexico).(Jose Carlos works with For A Change magazine)

As you may know, Anna Pozhogina (Latvia/UK) and AnnaBondarenko (Crimea, Ukraine) have visited the Novosibirskteam at the beginning of December. The report of their visitwill soon be ready, but for now here’s what some of thehosting team thought of their visit.

Tatyana (aka Nicole) Minbaeva writes:‘Last week, so long and busy, on one side, and yet gone ina moment, on the other, did not just fill me with a lot ofimpressions, but also opened my potential for a productivework in the future. A chance to look at myself from aside,no matter how surprising that is, helped me to know andunderstand myself deeper. Indescribable feeling ofhappiness and unity, when you hold someone’s hand,someone not long ago who seemed to be so distant andunreachable, feeling the hearts beating as one, understandingthe feeling of belongingness, the triumph inside…

This visit was so necessary, so natural; it gave mestrength and confidence inside, a direction in our teamworkand reaching the goals, which seemed to be impossible.Conversation about us, F4F and future is a perfectinstrument of realisation that I belong to something big andeverlasting desire to be integral part of it. Thank you, girls.’

Anna Bokk writes: ‘I could only say that Iagree with everything that Nicole said, and would like toadd that with your visit I have started to change for thepeople I live with, my family. I thought that if I feel so greatwithin YHI and F4F, why it can’t be the same in my family,with my relatives. If I could say so, I have really startedpracticing things we talk about all the time, in fact, know allthe time, and I mean the ideas of the IofC. It was duringthis week, that I made the first step, which I have alwaysthought of, and felt that I have grown.

I would not like it to sound as a fake ‘Change,change, change’, but I really feel with all my heart and soulthat this is connected to you.

I need this type of MENTORING, and yougave it to me on both personal and team levels.

Back to Novosibirsk

Nick Foster (UK)

8

UK NEWS OFFICE MOVE: The new office location is in the atticwith Nick and C-J Foster. Letters will still get through viaGreencoat Place, but the most direct way is directly to 90Western Road, Crookes, Sheffield S10 1LA. The A&A teamhave also got a place to stay nearby at 61 Toftwood Road,Crookes, Sheffield S10 2SL which is a great three-bedroomhouse where they are keen to host visitors. This is not farfrom David and Judith Curtis who live in the other IofC housein Sheffield. The whole shift has been quite a boost for theSheffield IofC team, and there are now regular meetings andtwo events have already taken place. This is part of the largerIofC activities in the UK, which the F4F team is very muchpart of.

F4F COMMITTEERETREAT: Chris and AnneEvans hosted a lovely two-day Sharing Time for the F4FCommittee. Out in the beautyof Worcestershire we had atranquil sharing time torefocus where the team isgoing, and how we are goingto support each other and theprogramme in the comingyear. It was a time of greatexcitement to bring Anna andAngela into the work here, butalso a time of sadness as Oleg

and Gabi move into another phase of their lives, though Olegwas there to share his thoughts with us. There were a coupleof decisive conclusions from our time together. Firstly, tobecome a true partner to our friends in the regions, we needto start working at home too so that we have our ownexperiences to share; we aim to have a course somewhere inthe UK this year, perhaps linked to other IofC programmes.Secondly, there is a growing sense that what we should bedoing is Nurturing the Nurturers. This echoes the history ofMRA where we should be walking along-side those who areresponsible for others. In this light the Crumplebury Groupweek in Sheffield was a solid beginning.

CRUMPLEBURY GROUP WEEK: This was a week,hosted by the Sheffield team running up to the Ranmoor HallEvent (a national gathering for IofC) where some peoplerelatively new to IofC UK (and some far more experienced!)gathered to share time and fellowship as well as reach out todiscover how people create community within the north ofEngland. There were several visits to social developmentprogrammes; Connected 2 in Huddersfield which uses music,rap and break dancing to reintroduce kids who have fallenthrough the system back to education, but on their own terms.A programme called Black PALM runs a mentoring projectand creates inter-cultural workshops in Sheffield, and the groupvisited Darnell Forum which combats deprivation within thecommunity of Darnell (a region of Sheffield), and Bob Bridge(one of the Sheffield IofC team) gave a presentation on SocialEnterprise, highlighting what the government is trying toachieve and how it goes about doing that.

Chris Evans atDial House

TheInternationals!

There was somesocial time withsharing, walking,enjoying Sheffieldcity centre, and, ofcourse plenty ofeating!. In anatmosphere offriendship andsharing we arestrengthening bondsboth internally andwith other organisations that also have a passion for changein their community. This investigation revealed that there is astrong need for community building founded on a desire forchange, both individual and social. The Crumplebury Grouplearnt that passion for change in their community. Thisinvestigation revealed that there is a strong need for communitybuilding founded on a desire for change, both individual andsocial. The Crumplebury Group learnt that passion for changeis a reflection of people’s own personal journey. However,there is a need to support those running such projects andmany feel isolated and alone in their work. Rather thanpartnership for the sake of funding, there is a need for trulycollaborative relationships within the social sector: to makethe world a better place we need to work together.

RANMOOR HALL EVENT: The Ranmoor Hall eventwas again hosted by the Sheffield team, and was a chancefor IofC members from around the country to gather as wellas bring others along who know little about it. After introducingIofC using the general IofC powerpoint presentation and thenhearing informal presentations from each of the programmesthis event focussed on some of the basics of the F4F ChangingCourse: the development of definitions of the Four Standardsand how to use them through ‘Good is not Good enough’ –two of the fundamental aspects of the course. The sharingamongst the attendees was claimed to be deep and enriching,and requests have been made to repeat the process. Whatwas really promising is that it demystified what happens onan F4F course for many who were unsure, and enabled manypeople to experience a sample of what it feels like. Interestin F4F here in the UK is growing...

Chris Evans atDial House

The Internationals!

Ranmoor Hall Team