Agape in Action

Good evening and thank you for being here. Some of you may be wondering why, out of all the amazing individuals who were nominated for this award, that I am up here to receive it. I can assure you that none of you are quite as surprised as I am. Perhaps it is my self-deprecating nature or the fact that I have had to develop such a thick skin in the line of work that I do, that I still am in some state of disbelief that prevents me from fully grasping that I am a person that actively works towards Peace.

When Agape first notified me that I was a finalist for this prize, they asked me to put together some documents and to send in some audio files that answered the following questions:

“What does Peace mean to you? How will you achieve it in this lifetime?”

Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I feel like these are pretty huge questions to answer. And when I sat down to record myself answering these questions, I realized that I didn’t know how to. In that moment of admitting to myself that I didn’t know how to answer these questions, I realized that it wasn’t because I don’t actively work towards Peace everyday, it’s because I have so much work to do, I rarely stop to tell myself that I am doing a good job, let alone ask myself how does this work towards Peace.

When I leave a bedside at the ER, after telling a 16 year old girl and her monolingual mother, that she has contracted a disease that if not constantly monitored and taken care of, will kill her—it is rare that I have the time to think about how this somehow connects to the idea of obtaining Peace.

When I meet with school officials to convince them to reenroll a 14 year old who hasn’t been in school since she was 11, I’m not thinking about anything beyond getting this person enrolled and figuring out how to convince them that getting an education is important.

And when I listen to my students talk about the violence that surrounds their lives, the shootings, the deaths, family members being deported—it is rare that I take the time to realize how this work, does contribute to achieving Peace.

So as hard as it was for me to answer the questions:

“What does Peace mean to you? And how will you achieve it in this lifetime?”

The act of having to understand and getting to vocalize the answers to these questions—was a rare opportunity and something that I am grateful for.

Peace to me is when a young person can access the basic resources that she needs and deserves in life, such as quality health care and education. It is knowing that you are entitled to living a happy and healthy life, that you can get the support you need in order to excel, that what you dream of doing and being—is something that you can achieve in your lifetime.

Peace is when that 16 year old daughter, estranged from her mother, living on the streets and selling her body since she was 11, decides that her life is worth living, and asks her mother for forgiveness and to move back in with her. Peace is that mother, willingly taking her back, nurturing her back to health and giving her the second chance she deserves.

Peace is watching that 14 year old struggle through school, but knowing that she understands that getting a basic education is important and will be the basis for her to make more informed choices for herself.

Peace is giving space and time for the girls that I work with to mourn, while bringing in mothers to teach traditional cooking classes and to tell their stories of surviving genocide and immigrating over the US, so that everyone can understand that as terrible as life can sometimes be, that who they are, the incredible history of their people and the resiliency of not just their parents but themselves, are testament that they will prevail.

Peace is knowing that obtaining it, requires the effort of every person and that it starts right here, in our community, in our home.

It is a blessing to be given the chance to understand why what I do everyday does contributes to Peace, and an honor to be recognized by the Agape Foundation as a person worthy of such a prestigious award.

On behalf of all the women involved with Banteay Srei, the families I work with in the Oakland community and the lives that have been touched by the work we do, I gratefully accept this award.

Thank you.