Newsletter: Winter, 2003

The Missing Piece — In Our Hands
— Patricia Mathes Cane, Ph.D. Capaticar Founder/Co-Director

A comment frequently heard at Capacitar workshops is: "You know this really is a missing piece!" In Asia, Africa and the US, where violence and trauma escalate daily, a political or material solution to individual and societal problems is not enough. What the human family needs now is a deeper healing in body, mind and spirit.

During a workshop for people from conflict zones throughout Indonesia, one religious leader spoke of the violence avoided recently in the Molukos with a political solution. "But what the people really need is what we are learning here," he said.

AIDS caregivers in Swaziland, Botswana and South Africa said repeatedly: "Medical care is not enough. What Capacitar teaches is a missing piece for us—a simple way to care for ourselves, a deeper way to care for orphans and those dying of AIDS; and this is something we have in our own hands."

Teachers and students in the Capacitar for Kids program in Cincinnati report that Capacitar practices have added an important piece to their schools, helping children learn how to be peaceful and feel better as they daily face trauma and violence in their community.

What Capacitar teaches is an embodied healing— opening the heart to return to our true nature, to heal wounds and reconcile differences, to reach out in compassion to others. The Dalai Lama in his beautiful book, An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life, encourages us to develop our true nature and our positive attitudes as human beings. "If we have a positive mental attitude, then even when surrounded by hostility, we shall not lack inner peace…Mental attitude is very important: it makes a real difference to our state of happiness…My life has not been easy. Throughout all these years I learned about compassion, about caring for others…That sort of thinking brings one inner strength and confidence. It has brought purpose to my life. No matter how difficult or complicated things may be, if we have this type of mental attitude, we can have inner peace. Again, I must emphasize that we are the same. I am a human being like you. We all have the same potential." Pema Ch–dron, Buddhist nun, says, "True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those who are less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings."

Our human family began over 3 million years ago in Southern Africa, where "the missing link" was discovered in what is now called the cradle of humankind. Perhaps in struggling together to heal such overwhelming problems as the AIDS pandemic, massive drought and global violence, we, too, will rediscover in our own hands the missing piece: the deeper spirit of kinship, the recognition of what it means to be part of a human family grounded in peace, compassion and loving service.

East Timor — Joan Rebmann Condon
Clinic staff, psychological counselors, health promoters, popular educators and catechists were among the 34 people who attended the five-day Training of Trainers workshop in East Timor. Most had previously been to a Capacitar workshop and wanted to learn more both for themselves and to train others. Counselors at a women's organization use Capacitar for their own burnout and with their clients. At Pas Clinic, staff teaches at least one Capacitar practice to each person they treat. And because Maria Dias, the Clinic founder, is dedicated to the education of children for the future of this new country, the staff teaches Capacitar one afternoon every week to 60 children in the Dili neighborhood near the clinic and another afternoon for 100 children in an outlying seaside community.

Indonesia — Joan Rebmann Condon
Mary Litell and Joan Condon facilitated the first session of the National Training of Trainers for Trauma Healing in Indonesia in September. Eighteen participants from different areas of Indonesia attended the training, held in Ambon, where interreligious violence has left large areas of the city and many surrounding villages burned to the ground. The Indonesian Capacitar National Commission chose Ambon specifically because it is a conflict area. They understand that Capacitar is the missing piece in helping people reconcile so they can work together to build peaceful communities. And they are making progress: in Ambon, every child now begins their school day with Capacitar Tai Chi. An article on Capacitar has even appeared in the Indonesian version of Reader's Digest!

Tanzania— Mary Litell, osf
Teody is part of the Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace team. During the second training in Arusha, Tanzania she described the challenges they face. After twenty years of war, they are hoping that the peace negotiations will soon bear fruit. Meanwhile, they are only able to do peace education trainings between military campaigns with the permission of the military commanders! They have learned several kinds of trauma recovery approaches. She likes Capacitar work because of the energy practices that help prepare people for reconciliation.

Swaziland— Pat Cane
Gloria Musi, coordinator of Caritas AIDS Caregivers, and Sarah Ilamini, Director of Hope House (a hospice for those dying of AIDS) saw how Capacitar could be of great use to many Swazis. After the SACBC training they immediately set up a regular gathering for the local community at Hope House in Manzini using the Capacitar practices. Thandi Dlamiwe, regional coordinator of parish nurses for Caritas, started putting Capacitar work into all of her trainings with nurses. A Capacitar-Swaziland Coordinating committee is well under way!

Botswana— Pat Cane
The SACBC training in Gaborone generated a lot of interest among grassroots people, especially those infected with HIV. Many of the infected suffer deep depression and hopelessness as they await the unfolding of the disease and related infections. Joyce, one of the participants with full-blown AIDS, gave a moving testimonial at the end of the training: "Because of this healing work, I am now able to accept myself and my condition. Rather than giving up, I want to live fully helping myself and others, until it is time for me to die."

Lesotho— Pat Cane
A special Capacitar weekend on spirituality and healing was offered by Mary Duennes and Pat Cane to over half the Province of Holy Names Sisters who run schools, hospitals, and clinics throughout Lesotho. The Sisters recognized the value of the practices for their ministries and for their own physical and spiritual wellbeing.

In the SACBC training led by Pat Cane in Pretoria, 8 persons participated from the Lesotho Diocesan AIDS office and from 2 hospitals. All have plans to apply Capacitar methods in Lesotho.

Virginia:Appalachia—Sunrise Center—Carolyn Brink, RSM
Sunrise Center has trained 7 new Capacitar team members to do outreach in Appalachia. This year alone 415 people have participated in 35 programs, for groups such as, health fairs, schools and the staff of the Department of Social Services. The Appalachia team presented workshops at the national conference of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia and are also planning to do outreach to victims of the recent hurricane.

Texas: El Paso—Bienestar Familiar—Pat Cane
A fourth Capacitar training was offered to border health promoters from El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Bienestar Familiar Director Imelda Garcia gathered together women and men from Cancer Consortium, Lamplighters (focusing on children with cancer), Bienestar men's group, and grassroots organizations from Juarez working with youth, prisoners, violence against women and AIDS. These border communities have suffered greatly with local violence against women and children, as well as high percentages of people with diabetes, cancer and AIDS.

California: San Francisco Tenderloin— Mary Litell, osf
The Tenderloin in San Francisco is "home" to hundreds of people who live on its streets. Shelley, who directs St. Boniface Neighborhood Center which includes an emergency men's shelter, has initiated a training sesion in Trauma Healing and Transformation. Those who serve follks in the Tenderloin find that Trauma is "contagious," and look for ways to heal themselves as well as to be of help to their guests and neighbors who sufer from violence, chaos and instability. While training participants come from many parts of the San Francisco Bay area, they have in common a deep friendship with people living on the edges of our society.

Ohio: Cincinnati—Capacitar for Kids—Mary Duennes RN
The Capacitar for Kids pilot was birthed with great enthusiasm during two days of training held in late August for faculty and staff of St. Joseph and Holy Family Schools. The K-3 students at St. Joseph do 5 minutes of daily Tai Chi at the end of recess and teachers report a noticeable difference in how calm the students are as they begin afternoon schoolwork. Written comments from children indicate that Capacitar practices are making a difference. One 3rd grader said that when doing Tai Chi it "feels like God is teaching me and it feels like I am in a whole different world." An 8th grader wrote, "Capacitar has helped me because when I'm mad or angry I just go into a quiet room and do a little Tai Chi and I'm not mad anymore." Ongoing supportfor teachers and staff includes another day of training and time for sharing in January 2004.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee—Center to BE—Marjorie Wilbur
A third Capacitar year-long training was recently completed in collaboration with the Center to BE in Milwaukee. Over 60 participants from 8 states, Canada, and Latin America have graduated from the course. These graduates are multiplying Capacitar in the US and in other countries with outreach to a wide variety of groups,including, refugees, seniors, the disabled, children, battered women, the mentally ill, veterans, youth at risk, spirituality centers and religious. The Center to BE also offers Capacitar workshops in many places throughout Wisconsin as well as in collaboration with the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation. For information on the 2004 year-long training, contact Center to BE Director Marjorie Wilbur: Mwctobe@execpc.com (414)672-5932. CEUs are offered through Marian College.