Dallas KC Forum: Economic Community Empowerment

The theme was a representation of several things: - The awakening of a community in understanding the demands of this world, the recognition and humble acceptance of the realities we face as a community and the truth, grounded in the faith, traditions and historical journey we have traveled as a people. It was clearly stated by one of the speakers at the conference that people who have organized themselves into communities, and empowered themselves economically have ruled the face of the earth since time in memorial, while those that have failed to do so, were enslaved by the former. Emphasis was on "community" and I could not agree more.

To empower a community economically, a lot of things have to happen, some by a due process of organization and soul searching, others by way of commitment that is greater than just effort, while here, in Dallas, the purpose driven agenda was to marry the two together, in a special way that the participation would echo through the generations that were (fore fathers and mothers), that are (us) and that will be (our children).Various things were presented, visions were unveiled, challenges were laid, success was praised, ideas were hatched, triumph was in the air and forgiveness was witnessed. All in all, leadership was shown, and agreed by all that it is central to implementation and follow-through for the plans to materialize.

As I drove home, I was brainstorming for an answer as to why I had made the 700 miles journey, and I realized that it was worth all that was presented. I made friends, help out as much as I could, and learned more than I expected. In other words, my expectations were exceeded. For all that made it there, thanks for your commitment, for those that were not able to make, thanks for you support and prayers, and for all that organized the event, may God, bless you for you time, effort and resources.

For us a community, we need to let go the fact that we have to be either coerced into action, or be pampered into doing something, aggressiveness is the game of the day.
The best practical "book" ever for a community like ours is NATURE. Daily observation of nature can really teach us a lot. Let us consider the jungle. the more aggressive and decisive carnivores tend to eat on a daily basis, the aggressive yet slow to act will on occasion go without food for a day or two. The passive and slow to act will be lucky to get the remains, let alone get their own. The moral of this story is that we are known as slow to act, and passive people. It as recipe for a modest person, but the reality is that in a world of many carnivores, it works to our disadvantage. There is nothing modest about a poor community; there is nothing modest about a disorganized community, and there is nothing to learn from a divided community.
Let us pull together, let us work together, and let us hurry to get the edge. We need to realize that there are several ships that come by our communities, bringing a lot of opportunities to exploit, there are several docking places, and now that we have intellectual and wise leaders, they have done a good job at recognizing and indentifying those docking places. Let us listen to them, and when they blow the whistle, let us act in accordance to the tune of that specific calling. In doing so, let us respect yourself and others, because it is artfully and wisely commissioned in our community that “Konyit kotee tany ak muren”