OVERCOMING SLAVERY & POVERTY

Cape Coast Slave Castle, Ghana, one of UNESCO's World Heritage Monuments

In this contemporary world, we have been made to believe in the language of science that civilization means development, evolutionary development, the creation of a better species of life forms, more advanced life forms than other life forms, and that if you were a member of the European species, then you were in the better position.

According to the philosophy of the European, all the indigenous teachings of the African or aboriginal child must be completely eliminated from within that child, every habit, every thought, every feeling taught by the ancestors. And what must be inculcated and poured into that child should be the habit, the thought and the feelings of that magnificent specie, the European, who the evolutionary process had chosen to a superior existence and way of life.

And upon the doctrine of the above, for over four centuries, the European invaded thriving nations of Africa, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, colonized, enslaved and dominated the destiny of Africans and native peoples and disrupted their social and economic development.

After two world wars from which the United Nations and its branches have emerged supposedly as pillars of peace, inspiration and progress for the world; and the rapid advancements brought about by science in medicine and technology to improve the life of mankind, the world is more than ever confronted by bitter wars, genocides, refugee crisis, drought, starvation, emerging and incurable diseases, illiteracy, unemployment, human-trafficking, drug addiction, religious violence, environmental pollution and lately a massive global economic crisis threatening the existence of some nations.

Africa in particular faces huge debt burdens, diseases, poverty, illiteracy, economic and social challenges. According to the World Health Organization, 2.6 billion people in the world are without access to improved sanitary facilities as of the year 2006. In low-income countries, 65% of the population faces health risks because of inadequate sanitation. Recently, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization in acknowledgement of the huge health problems Africa faces stated that “The overall performance of World Health Organization will be measured by the impact of its work on women's health and health in Africa”.

In a post slavery societies where the colonial settlers co-exist with natives and descendants of freed slaves, there persists a culture of absolute economic and social segregation, discrimination, injustice and inequality against natives and descendants of freed slaves. It is a world in which the natives, freed slaves and colored peoples are marginalized to the extent that they have been perpetually deprived of their lands, voices, beliefs and customs; they have no say in decisions affecting their existence and welfare.

In spite of the enormous contributions minority peoples have made in the fields of politics, science, technology, medicine, economics, education, business, music, sports, etc., towards the advancement of many of the democracies of the world, it has taken over 200 years for the first black man to be elected to the highest office of President of the United States of America. This is an incredible testimony to the truth about nature.

As one travels through the cities and villages of the world, you meet and socialize with the rich and poor people from different tribes, cultures, traditions, languages and religions along the way.

You are fascinated by a singular observation that all men are conceived in and born out of the womb of a woman; and that each grows at the same pace and at death is buried in the womb of the earth. Each comes into the world with nothing and goes back into the great beyond without anything. Where are all the mighty ones who came before us about whose feats we can only read in books?

We are confronted by the mystery that no matter how far we traveled from home, we see the same vast canopy separating the heavens from the earth, the rising and downing of the same sun, the appearance of the same moon, the coming of the rain, snow, the sowing and harvesting of the fields and withering of the leaves according to the seasons. We feel the wind yet we cannot see it physically nor can we tell where it comes from or goes.

Gradually, we come to the realization that spirituality is the foundation of everything that is life, and that just as electricity is to a light bulb, there is an intricate unity between the spiritual and physical worlds. That between these two worlds, there is good and evil and that both have causes and effects. That good things will always happen in the physical world in event the physical world obeys the instructions of the spiritual world.

It appears some scientists are beginning to say that they have come to the end of themselves, so to speak. The physicists have advanced so far in their research that they no longer understand their own findings; they no longer understand the nature of the physical world that they have been researching for the past century.

We have witnessed and will continue to witness the devastating effects of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and tsunamis around the world. The question for us is “Were these natural events the faults of the governments of the nations? Why is it that with all the world’s scientific and technical machinery in place, we cannot to stop natural disasters from occurring or save the victims on the days they happen? The truth is that there is no human or government on this earth that has any control over nature. It means we must obey the instructions of nature. We have to go back to yesterday and start embracing the instructions and teachings of our beginnings.

There is another mystery of nature that is beyond comprehension. Why is it that we have two eyes and are able to see things around us but are unable to see our faces with our own eyes without the aid of a mirror? If we cannot see our own faces with our own eyes, how then can we see the backs of our heads? The logical truth is that we need each other to travel this journey of life. Love is always the key. We need to love and be loved by one and the other.

It is undeniable that each and every one of us is equal but each has a different gift as well as responsibility to make this big earth a better or worst place. With love we can heal the world; with hate we can destroy the world.

If we look candidly at the faces of the populations, we can see promises, ambitions, strength, grace and beauty in each one of us. Each one of us has a unique gift to bring healing, hope and joy to this troubled and broken world. It is therefore important for us to discover who we are and what natural gifts we possess in order to fulfill the purpose of our existence.

It is now the time for all natives, settlers, descendants of slaves and descendants of slave masters, to come together and begin to manifest love and embrace the truth of spirituality. It is only by doing so that healing, peace and prosperity will spring up throughout the world.

It is with the above background that we have designed the Overcoming Race and Slavery program of group study tour, which consists of seminars, prayers, social and cultural interactions and historic field trips with lectures, with the following objectives:

(1) To reconnect descendants of slaves to their roots by introducing them to their ancestral traditions and cultures to begin the spiritual, physical and psychological transformation of belongingness to a race which still stands and thrives despite the extraordinary traumas of human exploitation and injustices;

(2) To take descendants of slave masters and the generations of post slavery era to monuments and landmarks of slavery and narrate in a powerful and convincing manner to them, the history of slavery and its impact on the world, and to make them aware that their status and comfort in today’s societies is the direct result of the economic gains made from cheap human labor during the four hundred years of kidnapping and slavery of African people by slave masters and the nations of the Western economies, which events are now having irreversible political, social, health and economic impacts on their development;

(3) To promote mental and spiritual healing, racial reconciliation, freedom, equality and social justice in every community of the world;

(4) To advocate for the elimination of all forms of slavery, human trafficking, exploitation and social injustices across the world; and

(5) To prepare, mentor and empower youth of the world for leadership roles in the global village.

Click here to download the group study program