The Rasur Foundation has been working since 2006 to pass the Ministry for Peace bill in Costa Rica. Yesterday, after almost an hour of eloquent speeches by congressmen and congresswomen in favor of the bill, it passed with no opposition. (See press release in Spanish announcing this achievement below). This achievement is timed beautifully with the Summit of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace coming September 13-21 in Costa Rica, which the Rasur Foundation is facilitating and the Costa Rican government is hosting. Please pass this e-mail on to people who may want to take the BePeace Foundations Course from Sept.13-17 or to NGO and government representatives who want to initiate a campaign for a ministry or department for peace in their countries. They can still register for the Summit and should contact Tara Ruttenberg summit@mfp-dop.org to receive the invitation packet. We are busily preparing for the Summit welcome reception and BePeace Course at our Academy for Peace headquarters. To host these events, we need to complete our new training center, pictures are attached. We have worked for 12 years to strengthen Costa Rica’s model of peace through this bill, through working in the school system to train peace teachers in BePeace and to create an alliance of nonprofit organizations to work with the government on systematic national peace promotion. We have been successful now in setting up this replicable model and we just need funds to complete this last step. We also need donations to provide scholarships for developing country representatives to the Summit. You can make your donations online at www.rasurinternational.org/donate.html. If you make a contribution online, and would like your donation directed to the BUILDING FUND please indicate that. In the online donation process where you will see a place for this. If you prefer to send your donation by check, please mail your donation to: Janice M Stanley Treasurer, Rasur Foundation International 10407 Grant Lane Overland Park, KS 66212 You can designate whether it is a donation toward finishing the training center or for a scholarship to the Summit. Costa Rica is proving that peace is practical and possible and will be able to share this “dream coming true” at the Summit. The new peace paradigm is at hand. Please partner with us now by helping to complete our international training center where countries will be able to come and learn to replicate this victory for peace. With profound gratitude and joyous anticipation, Rita Marie |
