April 14, 2011

The Green Family Foundation's President, Kimberly Green, is featured in this month's Florida International Magazine story "People 2011 - 25 Individuals Taking Florida Forward."

When the magazine originally approached Ms. Green, they sent along a detailed questionnaire, which she answered during a trip to Haiti earlier this year. When asked to describe herself in one-word, she answered: "unyielding."

As is usually the case, her answers were edited down significantly, so we would like to share some of her answers as they were submitted for the "Power Player" profile:

Florida International Magazine (FIM): What does the word "power" mean to you?

Kimberly Green (KG): "Power matters most to those who do not have it. Power takes many forms. When harnessed, power heats homes, cooks food, boils water, allows books to be read after sunset and hospitals to save lives, yet still, 1.5 billion humans have no access to power.

"Power is also the ability to affect change – to influence hearts and minds, both for good or evil. With power comes responsibility and I believe in speaking truth to power."

FIM: If you had endless resources (can be money or other pertinent resources), how would you ultimately use them?

KG: "Endless resources at my fingertips would enable me to enforce policy change throughout the world, enabling every country to meet the 8 United Nations Millennium Development Goals, designed to end extreme poverty in our lifetime.

"Endless money at my disposal would also allow me to go to those who are standing in the way of positive change and negotiate exactly how much it will take financially to just get out of the way."

FIM: Influences/icons/sources of inspiration?

KG: "Haiti is the world’s first black Republic and the only nation to name a road after the American revolutionary abolitionist John Brown. Called “the most controversial of all 19th century Americans”, John Brown is an inspiration to me for the simple reason that he sacrificed his life for the abolition of slavery.

"To quote Frederick Douglass: 'If John Brown did not end the war that ended slavery, he did, at least, begin the war that ended slavery… Until this blow was struck, the prospect for freedom was dim, shadowy, and uncertain. The irrepressible conflict was one of words, votes and compromises. ... The clash of arms was at hand...'

"... Finally, one of my modern day heroes is Dr. Jacky Lumarque, Rector of Université Quisqueya, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, who encouraged his students to stay in Haiti after the total destruction of their prized university, running make shift classrooms out of tents and under mango trees. His words underpin all of our efforts in Haiti: 'Reconstruction is surely necessary, but it's not in buildings. It's not in facilities. The most important component of reconstruction is in humans. And to do that we discover that culture must be the most fundamental aspect of the reconstruction program.'"

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Millennium Development Goals - End Poverty by 2015

PBS "Haiti's Lost Music" - interview with Dr. Jacky Lumarque, Rector of Université Quisqueya

Tweet