Change the world with love

Ted Talk Wolfgang Schmidt

The book can be ordered here:https://w-p-schmidt.com/cs/domu/

1. I just returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a huge country, with immense difficulty. You may not know much about the situation in the Congo, but I’m sure you know a variety of places in the world that are a serious problem. If we take a closer look at these problems, we can get the impression that we can’t do anything about it ourselves. But I am personally convinced that absolutely anyone can ‘do something’ and that things will change for the better if we act with love. I believe that the best way to change the world begins in our heart; Only then can we help others do the same. I found love is the best way to change any heart.

permit
me, to briefly introduce you to what my wife Lenka and the little one are doing
by a team of collaborators in the Congo, because I would like to show with this example,
What can really be achieved, despite the difficult conditions.

Try to imagine that you have an empty fridge or that
You have none at all. You have neither work nor money. In rich countries you will get
In such cases, financial support, assistance for food provision and provision
Roofs overhead. It doesn’t work that way in poor countries. So imagine that
You have no social support available…. You wake up in the morning with a blank
stomach, you go out to try to get some money and bring home
Some food to make your family have something for dinner. And this is how hundreds of life live every day
Millions of people!

unabled
1 billion people on earth live for less than $1
daily; This means that 1 in the country’s 7 inhabitants are hungry most of the time

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On the other hand, 1% of the richest people own
So much property as the rest of the world together

–        Every 3 seconds in
As a result of extreme poverty someone dies – that’s over 10 million people each
year

as such
Numbers are really just numbers for some people. However, given that we are
He and Lenka lived in Africa for more than 10 years, we have lively experiences and experiences
Real people behind those numbers. We worked sequentially in six different countries
And we decided to focus our attention on the Congo, because we perceived that
Help is needed here most urgently.

cause
So many Congolese problems are its great mineral wealth. What is the reason
Constant wars and clashes in the Middle East? It’s oil, isn’t it? Congo still has
More: Has oil, gold, diamonds, copper, tin, cobalt, uranium and coltan, used to
production of mobile phones and laptops. Only thanks to the natural water power of the Congo River
would the locals be able to supply electricity to half of the continent of Africa, and perhaps
Even the whole. But in reality, the situation is such that in the Congo countryside, electricity is completely
It is missing and its delivery may be interrupted at any time in cities. About 80% of the Congolese
He doesn’t have a permanent job. It is most necessary to help in the countryside where they do not have power,
Flowing water, proper roads and almost no work or money. Why is it then
The Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world, even though it has huge mineral resources?
One of the reasons is its historical development:

On
At the end of the 19th century, the Congo became the private property of the Belgian king
Leopold II. Almost half of the population died under his administration, just over 10 million
people. If the workers on the rubber plantations did not perform enough,
They used to be punished by cutting off their hands or feet – and this also applied to women and children!

After
King Leopold’s government was taken over by the Belgian government, which used less
barbaric methods, but continued the same colonial oppression and theft
Congolese minerals, until 1960, when the Congo formally acquired
Independence.

           
Shortly after, the dictator of Mobutu, who terrorized the Congo, took over
The next 30 years, with the support of the Belgian and American governments.

           
In 1997, Mobutu was overthrown by Laurent Kabila and his Uganda allies and
Rwanda. When Kabila then did not deliver the promised minerals to his allies,
it has sparked a war between these countries and the Congo.

           
The war was officially ended in 2003, but in fact it continues in
Eastern Congo to the present day. There is still violence, caused
Rebels. Photos lost their lives in the last 20 years, about 9 million people, either
directly in combat and during violent attacks, or as a result of illnesses or malnutrition after
the end of the war.

           
This war is essentially a raid by foreign mining companies that
They use the rebel armies, consisting mainly of citizens of Rwanda and Uganda. target
is to seize the sources of mineral wealth in the east of the country. From the mining of these
raw materials, the Congo itself receives only a very small share, which also gets
Only to people at the very peak of power. The decisive part of the excavated material is
Exported from the country through illegal mining and smuggling. Airplanes, like
is this, (photo) land in the east of the country and transport raw materials to Rwanda and
Ugandas.

As
this situation to be resolved?

1.    Stop this
war and illegal extraction of Congolese mineral wealth.

2.    Invest income
state into the development of the country instead of ending up in the pockets of its power elite.

3.    Congo needs
a quality education system and economic development for the entire population, so that
All people could meet their basic needs and build political
Awareness and true democracy.

2.    How did Lenka and I have the opportunity to help the Congo?

We arrived in the country in 2003 after the war moved to
East of the country. We imported a container with humanitarian aid and divided the content between
needed in Kinshasa. Then we embarked on a security project
Foods for orphans. Some people in kinsasa are so poor that they let their
Infants lie on the streets or in front of orphanage doors. There are hundreds of children, thousands more live on the streets of Kinsha.

In 2008 we adopted one of these children, our little girl
we named Anissa. Here is Anissa two months after adoption, (Photos) and here it is
A picture from a recent time. Anissa was given a chance to develop her talent:
He speaks English and Czech fluently and learns German with me. She likes to ski, skate,
He dances and sings, practices athletics and learns to play the piano. is direct evidence
What potential is hidden in African children who get a chance. We try
to raise Anissa in a loving setting and we hope she will also grow out of her
A kind and loving person. I personally believe that these qualities should be
Children led not only in the home environment, but should have priority in education
at any school or university.

In
in 2011, we encountered extreme poverty in the Congo countryside when the person
we visited the village of Mushapo for the first time. Local chiefs have asked us to
They built a school in the village because it didn’t have one. It was clear to us that working in the bush
It will be extremely difficult, but it was just as clear that if we did not build the school
We, no one else will. we started with that,
that we had the local clay squeezed out of the local clay and later fired the bricks,
So that we can build solid school buildings. We had to go to Mushapa
transport first by old planes from Kinshasa to Tshikapa and from there to take rented
Mototaxi or by car another 60 km to the bush, which took 4 to 12 hours depending on the,
If it was raining and in what condition the roads were.

These
The three buildings make up the school and on the right is the health center, which we also
They built. photo

From
In 2012, more than 2,000 children gradually attended our school, without
of any fees – a thing unheard of in the Congo, because normally they have to tuition
Pay each. This is one of the reasons more than 50% of Congo children do not come
to school – their parents cannot afford it.

           
In 2016, Kasai province, where our school is located, suffered the same fighting that
They take place in the eastern Congo. The goal of this violence is to drive out the local
the population to make it easier to mine local resources. there have been
Thousands of people were brutally killed and 80 mass graves have been found so far. on the run and
A million people were homeless and hundreds of schools were closed, including ours.
Most of our teachers and students had to flee to Tshikapa, where – after overcoming
series of difficulties – children could finally continue their lessons in the afternoon in
another school building. I recently learned that our school in Mushap
It was again opened by members of the Tshokwe tribe, who had previously expelled from Mushapa
members of other tribes.

In
In 2017, we started a new project in Mabala, where we plan to build a school for
older children and provide them with preparation for work in agriculture so that they can
easier to provide for a livelihood and did not remain without after their final exams
Employment. Here is Mushapo, Tshikapa, the capital of Kinshasa and Mabala, nearby
Nioki. photo

Very
I long to help these children. To expand this information as much as possible,
I am writing a book about the above mentioned topics. On
Our work can be read on the website of the non-governmental organization ‘Aktive Direkt
Hilfe’, active direct help in Czech.

3. Sometimes people ask us why we actually help in the Congo And what drives us to help people in general? Why do we do it full-time as a volunteer, without a steady income?

Here
I have to go back to the special experience that Lenka and I had both many years ago. We each experienced in our own way
A deep love that completely turned our lives upside down. We found that this
Love is the solution to our personal problems and potentially the problems of the whole
the world. It was like finding a cure for AIDS and cancer at the same time.

permit
me to explain what I mean when I speak of love: the love we
They represent Hollywood films, it is usually unrealistic, superficial and mostly
It doesn’t last long. I’m talking here about a love that manifests itself in helping someone
to another. Love is not about getting something, it’s mainly about giving. Love means
To give, for example our time, ourselves, or something material. This kind of love
It is essential, it is the key to changing the world. Without her, everything will continue as
happening now. The biggest problems we face today are caused
Lack of Love: War, hunger, poverty, refugee and migration crises are
All the consequences of greed and selfishness. We should not be surprised by such
by the number of refugees when these people do not have enough food in their own countries
And soldiers or bombs drive them out of their homes. At the same time, in my opinion, foreigners
We don’t have to worry. I myself lived most of my life as a foreigner, worked and
I lived in 14 different countries on 4 continents.

In
Rich countries throw away 220 million tons of food every year and waste the whole world
1.7 trillion annually for military purposes. It would only be enough to eliminate poverty
a fraction of that amount—and love.

Other
Suggestions for what love can help us with:

·drug
addiction, loneliness, depression and suicide – all this could be eliminated,
If we spent time with people and show them our interest and love.

·to give,
helping others, showing them love – all this creates situations where they gain
Both sides. If you sacrifice something, give something, your love will come back.

·we
We can all share with those who have less than us. It won’t hurt us, Jim it
It will help.

·They had
we would adopt a loving approach and act with love. Every family, each
A company, government or company should lovingly take care of its members, employees
And citizens.

·only
we will embark on the implementation of any plan before making any decision,
We should ask ourselves: ‘Is there love in it, isn’t it?’

·If we act
With love, we do not steal, lie or cheat; We will not succumb to laziness, quarrelsomeness
nor greediness; Instead, we will help others and support each other.

·other
the form of this love lies in not giving in to evil, in direct struggle with it, in the effort to
bad to change.

4. How can we get more of this love?

Uppermost
things in life are not visible, we cannot touch them, make them, sell them
them or buy; They are things like friendship, happiness, peace, faith, hope and
Love. In addition to the physical side, the spiritual plane is also included here. an experience that
She changed Lence’s life and me was an encounter with an overflowing supernatural love who,
As we believe, it comes from God. it has nothing to do with religion;
It is a personal relationship between God and us. We humans are selfish by nature
And our human love has its limits, but the love I speak of is supernatural and
It crosses all boundaries. Anyone can experience this love, regardless of color
skin, religion, social status or education.

5. Everyone can do something,
For example you can:

–  talk about
Injustices in the world and trying to convince others of the necessity of change.

–   work as
a volunteer in an already existing non-governmental organization or with friends to establish
owns.

–   Notice the people in
difficult situation and start a project in order to change for the better, or to be involved in
already ongoing activities in this direction.

             
As Mother Teresa used to say, “if you can’t feed a thousand people, at least feed
one.” She also once said: “We cannot do great things on this earth. We can
Do only small things with great love.” We don’t have to do exactly what she did.
You don’t even have to go to the Congo to change the world. If we show love,
consideration and kindness to the people in our immediate surroundings, we will change a part
the world. There is enough food, country and money for everyone in the world. That which is not getting,
There is a love that would allow us to share everything.

·Let’s work
That is, together in love and with those people who are different from us.

·let’s help
To the poor and needy as much as possible.

·Let’s Change
World by love!