In my travels I have met with numerous religious leaders, many of indigenous religions, and from them I gained an understanding of the relationship of all spiritual beliefs and how the strength of that connectedness can work to bring healing to the Earth and to each other. I met with an Independent Traditional Seminole leader in Florida who has helped me to keep in focus the Influence of the United States on global consumption. I met with Kogi “mamas” in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia who believe that now is the time for the “younger brothers” (us) to grow up and begin to live in the “right manner.” In the Putumayo region of southern Colombia I met a “Taita” and with a drink called Yage (pronounced Yahay) I had a vision of the Creator encompassing all roads and all paths, so great was His spirit that we are all in Him. Today, my relationship with the Creator is more than a belief in His presence. I feel His presence in all the beauty of Creation. My prayer is:

Creator, I want to be faithful to you

As the foot is to the step

As the step is to the road

As the road is to You

In thought, word and deed.

(Colombian poet, Gonzalo Arango)

It is hard to believe that the run down, old construction office trailer could be revived from what it was in the photo top left, to what it is today. We are proud that we do a lot with very little. Your support is not spent on high salaries or fancy digs. Our humble trailer now has a nice porch and roof–over that keeps the sun from beating in our windows. We laid flooring and polished the wooden wall paneling, built a closet and added paint and a beautiful Ana Tierra inspired mural to the outside. We are nestled in a country setting among the Pecan and fruit trees and accompanied by our animal friends, both wild and domestic.

We attempt to use (and re-use) recycled products. We promote organic farming and buying, native seed saving, and voluntary simplicity in our lifestyles and workplace. We feed our shredded paper, along with our vegetable scraps, to our composting worms, who then give us “black gold” for the gardens.

The Co-Founders/Board of Directors came together to “weave” their individual projects into a people-to-people web of collaborators after realizing the common threads of economic disempowerment, environmental destruction, and cultural decimation were repeated across the globe. We have looked into the eyes of people who have had unbelievable acts of terror committed against them, and they have asked, “Why are “they” doing this to us? We have never done anything to them.”

But we are just the “weavers.” The people who make it all happen are the everyday hero-folk, like you, who saw a piece they were drawn to and just ran with it. They are the people (la gente) of threatened communities who stand firm against the odds and demand “Life, Dignity, and Self-determination.”

Carol Mosley USA Director Co-founder & Former Coordinator of Nature Studies program at Miami Dade College

Ana Maria Vasquez Co-Founder and Coordinator of Darien & Mexico projects. Eco-artist and musician

Michi Regier Violinista who volunteers with our Music Across Borders program in Mexico

Larry Abdullah Richard Allen John Alvarez Herb Bazur Betty Bazur Rosalie Beloff Shelley Berkowitz Sidney Bertisch Margaret Betz Nancy Blattner Richard Boren Laura Bradford Cindy Brown Barbara Buck Darlene Charneco Malcomb Chubb Ruth Velma Clark Noel Cleland Maria Cobian Jaime Colon Lois Congdon Diana Marie Cram James Crooks Kathleen Crow Sylvia Davis Don Daughtry Kathy Daughtry Margaret Day Julian J. DiBenedetto-Colton

Shawna Doran Mary Earley Beth & Tony Ehrlich Mary Elmendorf Henri A. Fourroux Elizabeth Fussell Al Geiger Julia Geiger (dec.) Wendy Geiger Maurice Gioseffi Katie Goldey Roy Goodman Jean Grosbach Jennifer Hale David Hartgrove Joanne Herrmann Stephen Hodges “Smitty” Hooper William J. Hopkins Warren Hoskins Delene Iacono Antoinette Jackson Jennifer Jen Stephen Jens-Rochow Alberto Jones/CACF Allen Joseph Margaret Kary Leon Katsir Stetson Kennedy

Eleanor Kenyon Sooyong Kim Lisa Kiser Sean Landon Dwight Lawton Ted Leitho Dan Liftman Ivone Lima Cynthia Lunine Sally Luther Sr. Miriam MacGillis Diana Marengo Susan Mastin Sonia Maxwell Ross McCluney Elizabeth McGee Tim & Katie McGuirl Metanoia Comm. Don Micklewright John Neumaier Kelly O’Sullivan Jocelyn Peskin Jessica Phillips Shirley D. Poore Paula Pred (dec.) Stanley Pred (dec.) Ruth Ragsdale Gladys Restrepo Jennifer Restrepo

Anne Richter Eric Ridenour Adriana Salinas Frank Schiavone Kristin Segelke Peer Segelke Connie Shearer Jane Sheffield Jorge & Karen Silva Kena P. Sliwa McGregor Smith Marla Suiter Aisha Taylor Maralyn Teare Jackie Turchick T.D.N.P. at UT Ruth Uphaus Judith Villar Ted Warmbrand Kenneth Weeks Kurtis Weeks Sue Williams Robert Winchester Louise Winchester Sakkony Yeang Betty Younger Michelle Zacks Ron Zamora Mary Lea Zamora

What do we really want from the whole of our lives but to leave a legacy? We want to be thought of on occasion and remembered kindly. We hope that with our life we have made this planet just a little better off. This is the legacy we want to leave for the children of the future.

Much of what we do at BRIDGES honors the foundation left by those who’ve come before us. We know these real life heroines and heroes live on through our thoughts and actions we take. We want them to be proud, and we are grateful for their gifts.

This Memoriam section honors the memory of people who have been near and dear to us in various ways, whether through direct support for BRIDGES or our members, been related through the work of our projects, or by the influence their life has had on our passion for creating a more just and peaceful planet. We all know the deep pain of loss and we grieve also for those who have lost loved ones recently in these violent times across the planet. We ache as we watch the news. The tendency is to feel hopelessness with such vast suffering all around us. But if we take a step, any little step at all, we set in motion a dynamic of creating a critical mass that will bring in a paradigm shift from competition to cooperation.

If you wish to honor a loved one by support for one of our projects or general support for Bridges Across Borders, please let us know. And thank you for the legacy you are creating by the way you live your life each and every day.

Frank Schiavone— It is with sadness for his passing and joy for the powerful impact of his life that we report the loss of South Florida activist and BRIDGES Advisory Board member Frank Schiavone. Frankie was a courageous, lifelong pacifist who served prison time as a conscientious objector during WWII. He was famous for his annual holiday ritual of dressing up as Santa Claus and hitting the malls with his “Don’t Buy War Toys” sign. Click here for more about Frank

Peg McIntire— North Florida and the world have lost a courageous, dedicated “peaceful warrior” for social change with the passing of our dear friend, Peg McIntire. Peg was a lifelong member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, a co-founder of Grandparents for Peace, and a strong supporter of BRIDGES, to name just a few of her many accomplishments in the movement for worldwide peace and justice. In this picture, Peg is receiving BRIDGES’ “Rock” Award.

Arlyne Goodwin— Our pilgrimage to the School of the Americas protest at Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA was not the same this year without the chance to see our friend Arlyne, who made the vigil annually along with her husband, Archie.