The Umoja Mühlbauer Academy and the Umoja Uaso Women Group mourn with the Friends of Umoja the loss of our founding chairwoman, Ise Stockums, who succumbed to cancer on September 6, 2023.
The Friends of Umoja and our projects in Umoja were close to Ises heart until the very end. She left us her legacy so that we could continue her commitment in her spirit. We promised to do so.
A great work is often the result of the collaboration of many people. But without Ises' energy and enthusiasm, without her conviction that anything can be achieved with confidence, without her ability to inspire others to embrace a project, we would not have been able to bring about the profound changes to Umoja that have permanently improved the lives of the students and the women in the women's village.
The women in Umoja accompanied Ise's final weeks with prayers and rituals. Trees were planted at the school in her memory, with the wish that they would grow as strong as Ise was.
Ise was able to say goodbye in person to many people who were dear to her. We are grateful to have known her. The memory of her example leaves us with a strength that will sprout from our current grief and bear fruit.
Ise was blessed with a belief in an “afterlife.” She said she would wait for us on the other side and look forward to seeing us again. And: “Always remember the good times.”
In Ises' spirit, we would like to share a text by Karl Pilsl with all those who mourn with us. But first, we will leave her with the last word, a thought that guided her in many of her decisions and which still influences those who were accompanied by her :
The Board of Friends of Umoja
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Die Beisetzung findet im engsten Familienkreis statt. Wer in Gedenken an Ise spenden möchte, kann dies gern auf das Spendenkonto des Freundeskreises: http://fk-umoja.com/spendenkonto/
Die nächste Mitgliederversammlung ist am 18.11.2023 um 13.00 Uhr im Haus Portz, Breite Str. 37, 41515 Grevenbroich.
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One day, everything will come to an end.
Everything you have accumulated—valuable or not—will be owned by someone else; your wealth, your fame, and your power will be completely irrelevant, and your problems, frustrations, and “sensitivities” will have vanished into thin air. Your victories and defeats will no longer matter.
It no longer matters where you come from or what social class you belonged to, whether you were beautiful or even a genius; even your gender or skin color no longer matters.
What else will be important then? How will your life will be measured?
It will no longer be important what you bought, but only what you built. Not what you received, but what you gave. It will no longer be important what you learned, but what you taught or exemplified to others.
What will remain is every impact of your integrity, courage, or sacrifice that has enriched, strengthened, and encouraged others to follow your example.
Living a life that makes a decisive difference to other people does not happen by chance; it is not a question of circumstances you would have had to overcome, but solely a question of your decisions.
The crucial question will always remain:
How did other people benefit from your existence?
So decide to live a life that makes a decisive difference. For other people and for yourself.
(Karl Pilsl)
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