<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">Yes, I would love to hear even more--Diann</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Nov 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM Sunny Walker via Dialogue <<a href="mailto:dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net">dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>THANK YOU DICK! I'm feeling blessed already by this conference I did not attend.</div><div><br></div><div>Peace,</div><div>Sunny</div><div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="4"><i>Sunny Walker </i></font><div><div dir="ltr"><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">She/her/hers</font></i></div><div dir="ltr"><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">On </font></i><span style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Roboto,sans-serif"><i>Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) tribal land</i></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Roboto,sans-serif"><i><img width="200" height="71" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4wPZyPY_WvsB1jy2GzPMb8pu58faklRdoOJQo2voecFQf7GxG2gsHYpUU7cAq4vfXWdUpp55rU"><br></i></span></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="4"><i></i></font><div>Certified Facilitator (Also Certified ToP Facilitator) </div><div>ToP Methods Mentor Trainer - <a href="https://www.top-training.net/w/" target="_blank">Upcoming Courses</a></div><div>Virtual Facilitation Collaborative Senior Facilitator</div><div><a href="mailto:sunny.sunwalker@gmail.com" target="_blank">sunny.sunwalker@gmail.com</a></div><div>303-587-3017</div><div><br></div><div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">For diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging inquiries:</div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="mailto:sunny@diversityinnovators.com" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">sunny@diversityinnovators.com</a></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><a href="http://www.diversityinnovators.com/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">www.diversityinnovators.com</a></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"><br></div></div><div>For virtual facilitation inquiries:<br></div><div><a href="mailto:sunny@virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com" target="_blank">sunny@virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com</a></div><div><a href="http://www.virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com" target="_blank">www.virtualfacilitationcollaborative.com</a></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Nov 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM Richard Alton via Dialogue <<a href="mailto:dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net" target="_blank">dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">The Smoke That Thunders</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">The ICA has
tried to have a global conference in Africa for many years and now we have
finally done it. People from 20 countries (10 from Africa) gathered in Victoria
Falls, Zimbabwe, to look at how we all are responding to the times we are
living in. At these conferences one is always shocked by the people one meets
and the projects one visits. Although the Falls, the smoke that thunders, is
amazing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%"> I was struck on the first day by a Maasai
women fully dressed in her tribal garb. We
broke into our working groups, and I found we were in the same group, Climate
Change. Her name was Josephine Ndirias
from Kenya. She turns out to be the Executive Director of the <b>Mukogodo Girls
Empowerment program</b>. It turns out she is from Nanyuki, Kenya. I had been to
Nanyuki to visit the ICA Canada project, ilnqwesi, and had lunch with one of
the Maasai leaders, Saaya, who turned out to be Josehine’s cousin. “My
goodness, what a small world.” It turns out that Josehine’s work is the
continuation of the Maasai work started by by Asha Spencer and Miriam Patterson
many years ago. Asha and Miriam were there in Nanyuki for a year. We spend the
next couple of days chatting about people we knew- Josehine’ still talks with
Miriam Patterson on a regular basis. And we went through all the people I use
to know: the late Vice President Biwott who use to demand money and vehicles
from ICA if we cared about our lives. I was totally startled by Josphine and
our meeting. We could have spoken together for the whole Conference. Conferences
do that for you- the people you meet! Over 100 people to meet in person. Wow, 4
from China and one from Hong Kong plus 15 from Nepal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">But not only
the people but the projects you visit! We visited <b>Ele Collection</b> (<a href="http://www.elecollection.co" style="color:rgb(70,120,134)" target="_blank">www.elecollection.co</a>) whose purpose is
to Remove all Plastics. They have women plastic bottle collectors all over the Town/Park
collecting bottles. They pay them by the pound. The Ele-Collections says its
goal is to clear Victoria Falls and the National Park of Plastics. Ele processes the plastic bottles into
building and road material which they sell. This all came about from the owner
and a friend walking in the National Park and being attacked by an elephant.
The owner’s friend was killed. They finally killed the elephant. When they
opened the elephant’s stomach, they found it was full of plastic bottles. No
wonder the elephant was mad! Ele Collection is about saving the animals from
the scourge of plastics. Ele is a business who gets a lot of support from local
companies and is constantly expanding. We were all struck by the methodology
and skills shown. They claim they are the only local plastic re-cycling system
in the world. We had to come all the way to Victoria Falls to find them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">On the way
to Victoria Falls I read two books. Just finished Paul Kingsnorth book, <u>Against
the Machine, on the Unmaking of Humanity</u>. He points out that we are facing
“increasingly impossible lives in the high-tech globalized world that has
resulted from the consumer economy”. We are slowly being capture by a world
that is unreal and losing a sense of being human. This second book, <u>Inspiring
Transformative Change</u>, is on image shift and its focus on enabling group
processing is what will allow us to rediscover the real world of personal
interaction and human consciousness. The <u>Change</u> book is written by Elise
Packard and Jane Stallman. It will come out in early 2026. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">Great
Conference- the people and projects were worth it. Conferencing is an amazing
way to find the Human Element in Global Development! Go Africa, where we all
find our roots!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%">Dick Alton,
lives with ICA’s Greenrise Community, helps manage ICA USA’s Global Fund and
way too involved in the Methodist Church’s Net Zero by 2050. Getting ready for
his 84<sup>th</sup> birthday.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p>
<b><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:white">Southern Africa is gifted with </span></b></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Nov 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM Richard Alton <<a href="mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com" target="_blank">richard.alton@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><img src="cid:2E9EBC22-CC79-4CCC-B0F6-A1752F9792E1" style="max-width: 100%;"></div>
</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Richard H. T. Alton</div><div>ICA Global Fund</div><div>United Methodist Creation Care</div><div>The Last Chapter</div><div>T: 773.344.7172</div><div><a href="mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com" target="_blank">richard.alton@gmail.com</a></div><div>Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2<br></div><div><font size="2">Won't you be my neighbor?</font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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