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Live Peace: Joy Balazo and Young Ambassadors for Peace
As an experienced worker for human rights in the Asia-Pacific region, Joy Balazo was troubled by the many examples of conflict she was observing. In 2001, she devised a practical model of workshops and networks to sow ‘seeds of peace’ among young people living on opposite sides of conflict. This was named Young Ambassadors for Peace. Joy has used this model in many contexts, including Asian cities and Pacific islands, to help hundreds of people work for peace in their own broken communities.
280 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2015
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December 16, 2015
What is your commitment before God for peace? Remember you are your word - you do what you say. Joy Balazo
As much a biography of Young Ambassadors for Peace as of Joy Balazo herself, this is a powerful testimony of God reconciling, restoring and bringing peace in conflict-ridden areas throughout Asia and the Pacific.
Joy Balazo is a Filipina who professed her vows as a Catholic nun and then left the order, convinced that there was more she could do for the down-trodden and dispossessed. After a time of turning her back on the call of God and enjoying life as a socialite, she became part of the movement that eventually ousted the corrupt regime of Ferdinand Marcos.
Not long after Marcos fled, Joy was able to engage in speaking tours across Australia but she found it almost impossible to convince listeners that the government of Corazan Aquino had not brought in promised reforms but had quickly returned to the corruption of the previous era.
Her life in danger because of her activism, Joy was given refugee status in Australia where she went to work for the Uniting Church.
With the help of her sister Menggay, she trialled an innovative pilot programme, Young Ambassadors for Peace.
From the highlands of PNG to wartorn Bougainville to the Christian/Muslim conflict in Ambon, Indonesia, to fractured East Timor, Northern India and Sri Lanka, the YAP programme has been a resounding success. Not all places have continued to bear fruit but the warmth and passion of the testimonies of those whose lives have been transformed and their communities restored is evident throughout.
An inspiring, deeply touching story of a small, brown, brave woman who joined the likes of Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan in winning the World Methodist Peace Prize.
I was impressed by Joy's often-repeated words: You are your word - you do what you say.
As much a biography of Young Ambassadors for Peace as of Joy Balazo herself, this is a powerful testimony of God reconciling, restoring and bringing peace in conflict-ridden areas throughout Asia and the Pacific.
Joy Balazo is a Filipina who professed her vows as a Catholic nun and then left the order, convinced that there was more she could do for the down-trodden and dispossessed. After a time of turning her back on the call of God and enjoying life as a socialite, she became part of the movement that eventually ousted the corrupt regime of Ferdinand Marcos.
Not long after Marcos fled, Joy was able to engage in speaking tours across Australia but she found it almost impossible to convince listeners that the government of Corazan Aquino had not brought in promised reforms but had quickly returned to the corruption of the previous era.
Her life in danger because of her activism, Joy was given refugee status in Australia where she went to work for the Uniting Church.
With the help of her sister Menggay, she trialled an innovative pilot programme, Young Ambassadors for Peace.
From the highlands of PNG to wartorn Bougainville to the Christian/Muslim conflict in Ambon, Indonesia, to fractured East Timor, Northern India and Sri Lanka, the YAP programme has been a resounding success. Not all places have continued to bear fruit but the warmth and passion of the testimonies of those whose lives have been transformed and their communities restored is evident throughout.
An inspiring, deeply touching story of a small, brown, brave woman who joined the likes of Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan in winning the World Methodist Peace Prize.
I was impressed by Joy's often-repeated words: You are your word - you do what you say.
Displaying 1 of 1 review