Winter 2011–2012
Director’s Letter
Greetings once again from the University of Notre Dame’s Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity!
As we near the celebration of Christmas and enter fully into the holiday season, I believe it is good to reflect on the importance of expressing gratitude. If you are like me, you have a great deal for which to be grateful and, if you are like me, you do not always express your gratitude as fully as you would like. It is possible for us to live our lives feeling grateful, but letting the gratitude go unexpressed.
I have learned and continue to learn a great deal about gratitude from people in some of the poorest parts of the world. Many of them put me to shame in the way they live their lives with hope, joy, and grand expressions of gratitude. They share what little they have with each other and with me. They remind me of what really matters in life.
In this newsletter, you will read about the ways the Ford Program is seeking to connect people to each other and to ideas that are life enhancing. We are dedicated to learning as much as we can while making a positive difference in the lives of people with whom we work in Uganda, Kenya, and elsewhere. As always, I invite your ideas and insights so that we can enhance our efforts.
Many thanks for your support of the Ford Program!
May the season be filled with gratitude and the peace that comes from expressing it fully!
In Notre Dame,
Rev. Bob Dowd CSC
Director, Ford Program in Human Development Studies & Solidarity at
The Kellogg Institute for International Studies
List of Articles
