Did You Celebrate UN Day?

As October comes to a close, I am reminded of the month that signals autumn to me, the month that ghouls and goblins come out here in the US, the month I become a year older, and most of all, the month that we celebrate the United Nations. I hope that everyone reading this was able to attend a UN Day festivity in your community. There are over 160 United Nations Association groups across the United States, so that covers a pretty big territory. To my knowledge, most have celebrated this special day in our world history.

Our UN Day here in Orlando was its own success and it wouldn't have happened without the contribution of four incredible young women: Chelsea, Amanda, Priya and Meghan. These are women I am proud to count as friends and colleagues - and together, we help to carry the torch to light a brighter future for us all. Below is an article I bylined for a local newspaper, the Caribbean Sun, about our local UN Day, Nurture the Nations. Enjoy! And if you missed UN Day this year, make sure you watch out for it October of next year!

Nurture the Nations: A UN Day Celebration
By: Sultana F. Ali

Most people correlate the month of October solely with Breast Cancer Awareness and Halloween. What most people in Central Florida are unfamiliar with is that the month of October is a special day in the history of our world. In the month of October, 62 years ago, world leaders came together to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” In the name of human rights, fairness, social progress, justice and freedom, the United Nations (UN) was formed on October 24th, the year of 1945.

Two years later the UN General Assembly adopted a U.S. sponsored resolution declaring October 24th United Nations Day, to be commemorated annually by all member-states of the United Nations. Every year around the world, people in communities celebrate United Nations Day in the month of October. In the United States, each President, beginning with Harry Truman, has issued a proclamation asking citizens to observe UN Day and to reflect upon the importance of the United Nations to our national interest, as well as to each American individually.

While this day has been forgotten by a lot of Americans, here in Central Florida, the Greater Orlando Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) has long been celebrating the day the UN was first chartered in 1945, along with the other 160 UNA-USA chapters across the United States. The Greater Orlando chapter has a vivid history and though small, has wielded a mighty voice in the dialogue of global issues. This year, the Greater Orlando UNA-USA celebrated their second annual “Nurture the Nations: A UN Day Celebration.”

Each year, to commemorate UN Day, Greater Orlando UNA-USA invites the community to an event that informs and inspires people around a particular Millennium Development Goal. According to the United Nations, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.

This year’s Orlando Nurture the Nations Celebration commemorated Millennium Development Goal 6, which seeks to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other major diseases by stopping the spread of these epidemics and making societal changes to support prevention. Goal 6 is vital as the health of a nation’s citizens affects its social, economic, and political abilities and standing.

Together, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis kill more than six million people a year. There is no magic pill that can stop these diseases or prevent new cases from happening. According to UNA-USA, “In order to control these deadly diseases a multifaceted approach must be taken, which combines education, prevention and treatment strategies. This includes teaching people how each disease is transmitted, ways to prevent transmitting or contracting them, and what to do if infection occurs.”

To powerfully impact the event attendees at Nurture the Nations, the Greater Orlando UNA-USA had an expert panel which included Alexander Petroff, Executive Director of Working Villages International, and Dr. Toni Moody, a local pediatrician and health expert. Working Villages International is a 501(c3) non profit corporation that is currently engaged in building a self-sufficient agrarian community in the war torn Democratic Republic of Congo. This Eco village located in the country's far eastern Ruzizi Valley is designed to act as a model of sustainable economic development and stability for much of the regions devastated rural population. Nearly $1500 was raised at Nurture the Nations through sponsors and the Silent Art Auction for Working Villages International and the local Hope & Help Center in order to combat Malaria in Africa and HIV/AIDS in Central Florida.

"Malaria is having a crippling effect on the economy, as well as the quality of life for the villagers of our project in Congo,” said Petroff. “Despite the massive progress that we have made rebuilding the lives of villagers in the war torn region of Congo we are working in, every single one of our staff is stricken with this terrible sickness at least twice a year. One of the most tragic aspects is that it would cost so little to completely remove malaria from our project. Working Villages is building a model village to drastically increase the standard of living of the average African villager in a sustainable way, and I am very glad to be working with the United Nations Association of Greater Orlando to remove this debilitating disease from the lives of villagers of the Ruzizi Valley. I was fully impressed with this wonderful celebration and was glad to meet the people of Greater Orlando who are committed to actively making a difference in the lives of their brothers and sisters in Africa."

The talent-packed program for Nurture the Nations gave the attendees a lot for their 20 dollars. In a dance choreographed by Julie Colombino, entitled “Wise Up” after the Amy Mann song that provided background music, dancers Julie Colombino, Katy Knapp and Christin Carlow lit up the stage in a dance of a person dealing with the struggle of infectious disease as it wages its war on the body, spirit and mind. Pandit Nandkishor Muley, an adjunct professor at Stetson University, the University of Central Florida, and the Hindu University of America, performed “An Evening Raga,” with the Indian santoor and tablar.

Later, in a skit called “(tr)illness” UCF drama students Jessy Kelly Grossman, Hunter Williams and Dani Patterson performed an original reggaetón rap (written by Hunter Williams) addressing Malaria, TB, and AIDS. The lyrics covered various statistics and facts about these diseases and called the audience into action, to do what it takes to eradicate these horrendous and fatal diseases. The evening ended with an impromptu Brazilian martial arts display by Capoeira Brazilian Pelourinho, a local group who practices and excels in this national sport of Capoeira embraced from Brazil. The Nurture the Nations event was a great success and Greater Orlando UNA-USA hopes to make it bigger and better next year.

In addition, we can all be proud to say that we live in a city that supports this country’s commitment to “commemorate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and recognize its many contributions to advancing peace and human rights around the world.” (National UN Day Proclamation, White House, 2004). Mayor Dyer passed a UN Day Proclamation for October 24th, 2007 recognizing the Nurture the Nations Celebration and UNA-USA. City Commissioner Robert Stuart presented this proclamation at the UN Day Event. Please stay in touch for Greater Orlando UNA-USA events at www.unaorlando.org