Inclusion
“Home is a place we all must find, child. It’s not just a place where you eat or sleep. Home is knowing. Knowing your mind, knowing your heart, knowing your courage. If we know ourselves, we’re always home, anywhere.” Glenda the Good Witch of the South, The Whiz
Today’s cyclone of hate has blown us to a new Oz. Dorothy found herself in a foreign land through no fault of her own; Alice through her own volition. Do they each deserve a place at the table?
FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation recently published the third Volume of The City We Need is Affordable. Working on this collection of solutions for our affordable housing crisis, I found there are real estate professionals around the world with humanitarian goals. Medair, a Christian relief group continues to help remote villagers in Nepal rebuild their homes after the 2015 earthquake. The government of South Africa has new subsistence housing programs for migrant mining workers who have long been exploited for diamonds. The Russian State Corporation for Reforming Housing and Community Services has a computer game that teaches young children the importance of conserving energy, recycling and community service.
Oz can be a frightening place. People markedly different from us. Wounded charlatans flying around on Twitter brooms. The key is to create a coalition of the marginalized and keep moving through the dark forest. Toward this end FIABCI will be celebrating UN World Habitat Day at locations all around the world on October 1st to share the positive momentum of changing our mindset from can’t to can.