PEOPLE STORIES
MORE PEOPLE EXPERIENCES

Here are some stories of people whose lives have been impacted by their encounter with Initiatives of Change. If you would like to share your story, please email us.

What is an HR person to do? The doctor and I stood outside and realized that we would have to go back in to find people. Other colleagues were at hand to assist and went in selflessly, not afraid to die in pursuit of the living. So we did. It's something you have to do in spite of the fact that you do not really know how safe the building is - would the structure hold? Would there be another bomb? Ranya Kargbo shares what her job means to her, working as a United Nations International Civil Servant.

Why would an 80-year-old English grandmother keep coming to Switzerland, every year for 50 years, travelling to arrange flowers at the Initiatives of Change international centre in Caux? And why does she remember that hug from a one-armed Afghan? Barbara Down talked with Elizabeth Loy when they were both in Caux this July.

The Black Heritage Today 2010-2011 magazine features Kojo Jantuah walking along the slave routes of West Africa, on an epic journey to finding healing and reconciliation and discovering his identity - and his destiny.

My tears and screams were too much for me to bear. I remember even wishing to die rather than to stay in this condition… That morning I had woken up early, prepared my son to go to school and given my loving wife a big hug. I had told her as usual that I would take her for a special treat as I had done before, not knowing what was awaiting me.

They say we all have a duty to forgive our parents; no parent has ever been perfect!

Andrea Cooper from London reflects on her experience of taking part in a course on ‘God’s call on your life’

Sander discovered he needed a power greater than himself to overcome an addiction to sex.

 

Richard Hawthorne has initiated trust-building community dialogues in Nottingham for the past two decades. Altaf Mohammed Abid catches up with him to know more about Initiatives of Change’s role in the community.

Michel Kipoke

Frédéric Chavanne pays tribute to Michel Kipoke, a fellow fighter for peace.

Leif Hovelsen

As a young man during World War 2, Leif Hovelsen fought in the Norwegian resistance. He was captured by the Gestapo and sentenced to death in a concentration camp, but a series of unexpected delays to his execution meant that he survived. An encounter with God while in prison led Leif to forgive his captors and after the war he worked in Germany sharing his experiences of suffering and forgiveness and working to rebuild relationships and trust.