Peace Pilgrim

Of all of the women that I have researched and shared with you, I find "Peace Pilgrim" to be one of the most, if not the most inspiring and extraordinary. Her story has really touched my heart, and her cause is one that I believe in with all my heart, Peace.
Her name was Mildred Lisette Norman Ryder, and she was born on a small farm in New Jersey in 1908.
After walking through the forest all night one night praying for her calling in life, she underwent a great spiritual experience. Mildred had this to say of the experience:
"I felt a complete willingness, without any reservations, to give my life - to dedicate my life - to service. "If you can use me for anything, please use me!" I prayed to God. "Here I am-take all of me; use me as you will. I withhold nothing." Then a great peace came over me. I experienced a complete willingness without reservations whatsoever, to give my life to something beyond my self."
A biography of Peace Pilgrim by Marta Daniels says this of her experience:
She began radically simplifying her life. She decided to get rid of unnecessary possessions and frivolous activities. She became a vegetarian, disciplined herself to live on ten dollars a week, and reduced her wardrobe to two dresses. She joined the Endurance Hiking Club, and undertook wilderness treks, to increase her physical strength and to gain experience in simple living. She said that she wanted to practice putting material things in their proper place, "realizing that they are there for use, but relinquishing them when they are not useful." She said she wanted to "experience and learn to appreciate the great freedom of simplicity."

During her 15-year inner preparation, she discovered the difference between the willingness to give of herself and the actual giving. She described this period as a time when she was engaged in a great struggle between ego and conscience, or between her "lower, self-centered nature," and the "higher, God-centered nature."

All and all, Peace Pilgrim walked 28,000 miles in three decades, and changes thousands of lives. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." She is a woman who has truly inspired me. She had a long amazing, and enlightening life, and I could go on for pages about it, but if her story intrigues you even a little bit, I hope that you'll read about her. Before entering this blog, I spent a good hour reading about her, watching videos and listening to audio clips... I dont think I can really express to you how much her story has touched me. She passed away tragically in 1981 while being driven to a speaking engagement.




This video is a short interview with a young man who was inspired by Peace Pilgrim. He walked 1,000 miles because he was so touched by her message.

Khaleda Zia

Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996, and was the first woman in the country's history to hold that position. She later regained the position from 2001 to 2006. She is the widow of the assassinated president, and leads his old party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. After 35 years of independence of Bangladesh she has ruled the country for about 10 years, the longest period by any one person. She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996, and 2001, a feat unachieved by any other politician in Bangladeshi history. In 2006, Forbes ranked Khaleda as #33 in 100 Most Powerful Women in the world.
Her devotion to her country, and her hard work and unrelenting attitude are inspiring to me, and thousands of other women around the world.

Mary Brent Wehrli

Mary Brent Wehrli is an extrordinary woman who has made great strides in the field of social work. She is a professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and is a role model to her students and to her community. Mary pioneered a program for first year grad students at UCLA giving them hands on experience working on Skid Row. She is also co-founder and convener of the Southern California chapter of the Bertha Capen Reynolds Society, which is a national organization of social workers. Through this, she has helped organize a series of grassroots coalitions that fought for Los Angeles to declare itself a sanctuary for Central American refugees, for the city's living wage law and to mobilize regional service agencies in response to welfare reform.

"She is an exceptionally dynamic, charismatic and passionate individual with an extraordinary ability to motivate and to inspire others to become involved in changing the world around them," said Michele Prichard of the Liberty Hill Foundation.

Sheila E. Widnall, Ph.D.

Sheila Widnall is the former Secretary of the Air Force (1993-1997) and the only woman to head a military service. A few of her other roles include astrophysicist, master pilot, aeronautical genius, educator, writer, wife, and mother. She has been honored by Women in Aviation, as well as being inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame. Some of her other awards include Lawrence Sperry Award and the Durand Lectureship from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers, and the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Distinguished Service Award. She was also the first woman to head a department at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT). Sheila is no stranger to being the first to do many things. I really repect her for her hard work and the fact that she was never phased a bit by being such a trailblazer. Way to go Sheila!

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D.

Huda Y. Zoghbi is a Lebanese doctor who has made huge strides in neurology. I found her work to be very interesting, although much of it went right over head... Im a comm major, not pre-med! I wouldnt be very successful at explaining her work, so I'll leave it to you to read her story! Check out the following sites!

PNAS
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Baylor College of Medicine
NINDS

Ginetta Sagan

Ginetta Sagan was a survivor one of the Nazi's prison camps, because of her involvement with the Italian resistance. There she suffered unspeakable acts of torture and violence, as well as watched her parents be murdered. Somehow she came our stronger and changed, with an unstoppable will to help others from experiencing inhumane treatment and torture. She has been responsible for the release of political prisoners in Poland, the Czech Republic, Latin America, and South Africa. 6,000 prisoners in Vietnam were also set free because of her relentless efforts. She was known to directly face captors and demand the release of prisoners. Ginetta knew the pain and suffering of the prisoners personally, which is why she worked so hard to free them in as little time possible. She founded the first West Coast chapter of Amnesty International USA and has organized some 75 other chapters around the United States. If more people had the courage Ginetta had, I truely believe the world would be a changed place.

Click here to read more about The Power Of A Nobody

Sophia Rabliauskas

I am a firm believer in protecting the environment, which is why I find Sophia Rabliauskas so extraordinary. She is a member of the Ojibway indigenous people in Manitoba, Canada, and for the last eight years has been working to protect her people's two million acres of undisturbed forrest land. She led her community in the development of a plan to manage and protect the forrests that they love so dearly. This year (2007) she was the recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.

Sophia beautifull sums up her beliefs and thoughts on her responsiblilty in this quote:
"Creator gave us the responsibility to care for the land, the land that sustains our life. Our Elders have always believed that how we treat our land today will affect the health of the planet and the lives of many generations to come. It is critical now more than ever, that we fulfill that responsibility that was passed down to us from our ancestors.”

Click here to read more about Sophia and see video of her!
Click here to read a Q&A with Sophia!