United Kingdom: Family Peace is World Peace

“If we had more family peace we can better secure world peace” was the central message delivered by the Mayor of Croydon, Councilor Bernadette Khan, at the joint WFWP and UPF Christmas Celebration held at the Peace Embassy, Haslemere Hall, in Thornton Heath on 15th December 2018.

Councilor Khan’s address to the nearly 100-strong audience focused on the contribution of the family in nurturing core values to enable individuals to become givers, not takers. She contrasted our own situation to families in troubled parts of the world who struggle to feed their children and ensure adequate medical care, and surmised that Christmas is a time to recognize how extremely fortunate we are to live in this borough.

Citing the many exchanges she has had with volunteers in the fields of health care, education, elderly and youth support while performing the mayor’s duties, she was inspired to see that “so much goodness, caring, loving and giving goes on”, which reflected the grand diversity of a borough where each community works towards the well-being of the whole. She concluded her address by thanking the participants for their contributions for the betterment of Croydon. Later in the program, she presented Ambassador for Peace awards to three individuals, Paul Tavares, Ruthy Richards-Levi and Mary Mathias, who have exemplified the standard of service for others through their valuable community projects.

On a bitterly cold and blustery winter’s day, the MC for the proceedings, Cecilie Fortune, warmly welcomed the gathering in the festively decorated Peace Embassy with the words “Christmas is all about relationships and feeling closeness of heart”, sincerely expressing the hope that the evening’s celebration would give the participants a taste of peace and love to take into the festive season.