Forgiveness, Compassion, Hope and Peacebuilding
In this edition, we reflect on these themes through the remarkable story of Richard Moore, founder of Children in Crossfire, and our work supporting their strategy renewal in Derry. We also share highlights from a recent gathering with Sisters Not Strangers in Manchester, where refugee and asylum-seeking women came together to celebrate their right to heal.
Richard’s Story
‘Real change in the world will only come from a change of heart’ His Holiness the Dalai Lama. On 4th May 1972, Richard Moore was 10 years old. On that day, Richard’s life changed forever. As he walked past an army lookout post at the edge of his school playground in Derry, Northern Ireland, a British soldier fired a rubber bullet from 10 feet away, leaving him permanently blind.
This was the beginning of his remarkable journey of forgiveness and compassion. Richard did not hold bitterness about his situation, including towards the soldier who shot him. He met Charles, the soldier, in 2006. Richard said of this encounter: ‘I have learned to see life differently.’ They became friends. Click here to listen to Richard’s story in his own words.
In 1996, Richard founded Children in Crossfire to support children and communities affected by poverty and injustice. Pictured below are Richard and Ian, reunited after their first meeting when Richard established the charity 30 years ago.
Richard drew inspiration from the Dalai Lama’s messages and promotion of the core values of compassion, forgiveness and peace. Richard met him, and hosted him in Ireland. Through their shared vision, including about the role of education, they too became friends. The Dalai Lama has said of Richard “Among the billions of people in the world you have provided a living example of the true practice of forgiveness and therefore a source of hope for every one of us. You might be blind, but you can see further than people with eyesight.”
Our Work: Children in Crossfire
We are currently supporting Children in Crossfire with their strategy renewal. As part of this process, we conducted one-to-one interviews with around 20 staff and board members to better understand the organisation’s opportunities, challenges, and vision. Lorna and Ian then spent four days in Derry with team members and the Chair of the Board, with additional online participation from colleagues in Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Over the course of the week, we explored the themes from the interviews, introduced learning models, the '5M' governance model, and a range of leadership and culture exercises. Together, we developed an initial draft strategy – to be refined over the coming months, including a visit to Tanzania – with a 'one organisation' approach beginning to emerge that draws on common elements across programmes and embeds an ecosystem mindset. Below are pictures of some of the activities involved in the process.
To gain insights about the context, we also spent time with Richard and the team exploring Derry and its history. This gave us a deeper understanding of the need for peacebuilding. Derry is a powerful place to begin this conversation, given its deep awareness of the suffering caused by conflict and its impact on communities.
Pictured below is the Peace Bridge across the River Foyle. It was built to help bridge the divide between communities, improving movement and connection. Both practical and symbolic, it stands as a hopeful sign of future reconciliation. Its two structural arms extend in opposite directions, symbolising the coming together of the communities on either side of the River Foyle. Once separate, these two independent arms now meet in a symbolic handshake across the river.
The Right to Heal
Sisters Not Strangers is a UK-based coalition of groups that support asylum-seeking and refugee women. We have been working together with SNS since 2020.
Their annual conference took place in Manchester on Saturday, hosted by Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST). The focus was ‘The Right to Heal’. Right to Heal is part of the Sisters Not Strangers’ campaign, which focuses on women’s wellbeing, dignity, mental health and community support within the asylum context.
The day brought women together in a place of safety and friendship. The discussions and speakers focused on women’s health and wellbeing and their healing, from the combined experiences they had fled from, and through the process of the UK asylum system.
The day was inspiring and uplifting – full of joy, sharing stories, food and friendship, with dancing, singing, and hope for the future through connection. Here are some pictures from the event which Lorna attended.
“With kindness, love and compassion with this feeling that is the essence of brotherhood, sisterhood, one will have inner peace. This compassionate feeling is the feeling of inner peace.”
– The Dalai Lama
Best wishes,
Rosie, Ian, Kemal and Lorna