People who move forward – that’s the literal translation from Spanish for the movement called ‘Gente que Avanza’.

During his visit to the IofC centre in Petropolis, Brazil, Rajmohan Gandhi spoke about his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, and about the man who started the work of MRA (now IofC), Frank Buchman. Two short videos are available.

“Power of apology in building bridges”

My first time in Latin America was five years ago this summer, when I worked as a volunteer in Guatemala, and it’s been great to be back and participating in this new ‘voyage of dialogue and discovery.’ I find myself, again, completely taken with the “heart right out of the chest” passion of the people and feeling quite at home.

When I was in university, I took a class on the psychology of Mexicans where among other, we read the book of Octavio Paz, a Mexican Nobel Literature Prize winner, who discovered Mexico when he was outside Mexico. In his book the “Loneliness' labyrinth”, he wrote about this lack of identity of Mexicans.

There is a theory that when one takes an airplane a body flies quicker than a soul can, so it takes few days for it to reach a body. Well, I started to suspect this might be true, for my soul definitely took time to arrive. Quite a few of the events that took place in Mexico City and en route to Columbia made me think about my own country, Ukraine.

In the utter silence of the Colombian alpine morning, the inner noise of my mind and heart is amplified to deafening proportions. Yet, the ambient quiet quickly overcomes the inner din, and enables the connections with our new Colombian friends to be made quickly and deeply.

The welcome we Gandhi Voyagers receive is as large as the city itself - the Mexicans are very friendly people.

The ash cloud enveloping Europe and disrupting flights across the continent has not clouded the spirits of the Gandhi Voyagers!

It usually takes me a while to absorb the many information and emotions each country offers. For Kenya, it might take me even longer than usual, as too many things happened during the 5 days spent in Nairobi.

What a great way to start our time in Kenya! We experienced a warm welcoming from many of our friends who met us at the airport in Nairobi. After spending the necessary time to greet them all, they offered us some time to relax and be with them before departing to the Oshwal Centre where Rajmohan would deliver a lecture. I found this a wonderful way to embrace us all.