THE FUTURE OF AMESHI.

I appreciate the comments from Obii and Anonymous. I do not want anyone to quit for this is not the time for the part time citizens. Let’s continue to set the example for the rest of us to follow-like the prophets, kings, chiefs, and kings served as symbols, representatives, and models for their people in the old and new testaments, etc.

The journey is by no means easy and the rewards are by far immeasurable. We must continue to champion the course for a better Ameshi. Not because we are obligated to do it but because it is the right thing to do. According to G. V. Plekhanov, “ Only the person who does not evade conflict and directs his efforts in keeping with the course of society's development can be an effective leader.”

We must continue to serve our community. We must continue to do the good deeds for our community. We must at the same time be ready for the personal attacks on us and not be afraid. Like president Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "So let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Fear is the great "trickster". Fear colors the quality of our beliefs, actions, and communication. Fear manipulates our perceptions and halts creativity. Fear emotionally separates people from each other and dooms partnerships of all kinds.

Obii, Patrick, Oriuwa, and all of us, I know we can champion this new frontier of change. I know that if we don’t give up, we will win more hearts. . I know that if we don’t give up we will eventually change our society (or just make it go) by producing people, enough people, who will change it (or make it go). I know that with all our knowledge and good hearts, we will surely touch the heart of that little girl in Oguta whose everyday is bleak with hunger, poverty, rape and illiteracy. I know that with all our knowledge and good hearts, we will surely touch the heart of that little boy whose future is retarded with child slavery, theft, and illiteracy.

That little boy and girl as “they” may be referred to, represent the many members of our family who rely on us to chart a brighter future for them. They represent the many members of our family who are asking for a safe and livable Ameshi where we restore the quality of life we deserve, not only a higher standard of living, but also higher standards in life. These standards are not merely the value of our possessions, but the values we possess.
They represent the many members of our family who deserve affordable health care with good long-term care for our loved ones.
They represent the many members of our family who believe that if we don't advance the Ameshi community, if we don't change it soon, if we don't change it dramatically, in a few years Ameshi will be extinct.

These people are real. They are not lost. And they are not alone.

Whatever may be the challenge, and the difficulty, and the hardship involved, somebody has got to stand up and speak for them. Somebody has got to stand up and fight for them.

With our love, we shall truly succeed in organizing action to improve our community--raise the floor beneath all members of our community-- engage others in efforts to reach higher levels of human awareness and relationships-- pass on to the next generation a society less tolerant of human degradation.

With our trust and openness, I know we can truly reclaim/rebuild Ameshi. With their needs, we shall truly gain the courage to fight for them and speak out for what I believe are the real issues and solutions for reclaiming/rebuilding Ameshi.

And since the child is the father of the man, we must bear constantly in mind that Ameshi cannot be reclaimed/rebuilt unless the child is not only well fed, but well born; unless he lives under conditions wholesome morally as well as physically; unless he is given education adequate both in quantity and in character to fit him for life's work.

In summary, I will live you with a quote from George Bernard Shaw, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”