Participation at the Organization of American States General Assembly
On March 20th, 2019, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States approved No More Violence International as a member of the registered civil societies. This provides the recognition and opportunity for us to have access to work in all the nations of the Americas.
In the month of June our leadership team attended the General Assembly of the OAS in Medellin, Colombia. We attended the session and heard the discussions on various topics. We were able to speak with Ambassadors from the USA, Argentina, Paraguay, Haiti and others. This year the agendas of sexual orientation and abortion were the key issues. Representatives from the Christian community and those opposed to a God centered worldview expressed their positions with passion.
We are grateful for the opportunity to be present in order to meet people and build relationships with citizens from each of the countries represented. It is evident that we have much work to do and that our programs in Education, Child Abuse and Prevention of Domestic Violence are tools that will fit in well with the initiatives that are being carried out by the OAS.
Our NMV team was comprised of our seven board members, Alicia Neumann, Fernando Carradori, Oscar Gimenez Larach, Jose Luis Chito, Norberto Palmitano, Richard Gomez and David Balyeat. While attending the General Assembly, we also sent Norberto and Oscar to Cucuta where they observed the 30 to 35 thousand people that cross the bridge from Venezuela each day. They were able to share about how NMV helps bring peace in troubled areas. They spoke to volunteers in a community center that provides meals and other assistance to those in need, and to members of a local church.
Jose Luis went to the city of Ibague where he shared with church leaders about the NMV movement. In both cities we found interest and were able to schedule training sessions for later this year. This in addition to the open doors we also found in Medellin.
We are challenged with more open doors with the printing of materials and the travel necessary to accomplish the training and multiplication of volunteers that will carry on the movement.