Slate Foundation Empowers Women

Powerful individuals quiver in the face of people that are united for a cause. When a group marches and attracts others to join in that march the interlopers flee. 

The traditional wildlife NGO (non-governmental organization) spends time raising money and marching to raise awareness of the poaching problem. In the end lots of people become aware of the problem but there is no solution that curbs poaching. What was surprising to the Slate Foundation upon a recent trip to Africa was that the majority of poachers were single moms that were simply attempting to provide for their children with the only resource they had at their disposal–endangered wildlife. When the group began exploring the causes of this poaching it became apparent that solutions existed that were manageable.


The expedition was conceived to find the gorillas that have come under severe pressure due competing for life sustaining resources. When the Slates arrived the absence of any and all wildlife was eerie. Even insects were absent as they were being eaten by the villagers whenever they were found. What was also surprising was the communication network that exists without cellular phones or radios. News of the Slates travel reached the village hours before they did. The Slates arrived in time to curb the virtual destruction of everything in the area. When insects are absent, every shrub, plant or tree becomes fair game as a food source. The result is an ecosystem that is damaged with the inability to sustain life.

The villagers told the Slates that they were familiar with raising chickens but lacked the resources to get a chicken farm up and running. The women from the village presented Slate with a formal business plan drawn out on a single sheet of paper to gain the confidence of Slate that they could make the endeavor work. An $800 donation of 24 chickens, tools, building materials and the acquisition of a small piece of land and the women were up and running. Soon after the donation Slate was warned that harm was coming to them if they did not leave immediately. “They know you are here and they are coming for you.” Knowing that life or death often hinged upon a mere scrap of information the Slates packed up and left without more than a few moments notice.


Strangely they were told that the other NGO’s, that profit from a climate of aid dependency, were the threat - not the tribesmen. The group left behind a camera for the women to document their progress or should harm come to them to document that too so that the world could keep tabs on them and reach out for help should violence seek them out. They also established a line of communication and a method to send additional funding through a bank in the nearest town. Two times they were able to successfully donate money that reached the mark but the third attempt was hi-jacked by the bank.

What began as a coalition of a few women has grown to encompass 500 women that all work sewing, farming, and raising rabbits or chickens. In this remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo two rabbits sold generate enough money to pay for a year of edu- cation for a child. Recently a few of the women suffered an attack that included being raped. The 500 women answered this violence by marching as a message of solidarity that violence against women was no longer going to be tolerated. There is strength in numbers. Empowered women are one of the keys to peace. These women have created a vibrant economy and have no intentions of going back to poaching wildlife to sustain their lives. The Slate Foundation is still monitoring their project but everyone has bought into the concept that the responsibility for this village lies within the village. The Slate Foundation is all about helping people help themselves. Says Gina Longo, “ultimately the people have to do the heavy lifting.”

It will take years for the wildlife to return to the area but the healing has begun and the women are organized and empowered to protect themselves, their children, their business and their rights.

The Secret of the Holy Grail

Dear Knights and Prospective Knights,

You are part of the making of history. The Knights of Malta have a legacy of rendering aid on the field of battle, and that tradition continues today with every Knight that declares a life of service to help the plight of the less fortunate. The oath as it is written in this book, Rise a Knight, when exercised by Knights, leaves humanity and the planet better off.

But there is a more profound principle at work here—a secret that will change the world and bring about an unprecedented era of world peace.
Dan Brown touched on this in his book and subsequent movie, The Da Vinci Code, but slightly missed the mark. He correctly postulated that the Holy Grail is the vagina or female form. He also glossed over the true motivation behind the Inquisition—the oppression of women. Smart men knew that the only way to control humanity and leave power in the hands of the few was to oppress women. Peace and prosperity comes from women being empowered and equal.

Our new order is one voice to empower women, as all who take the oath agree not to discriminate against any human for any reason. Imagine a playing field level for all of humanity. Moving in this direction brings us closer to Thomas Jefferson’s postulation where he declared, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men (humans) are created equal."

It wasn’t true when he wrote it. It isn’t true now…but it ought to be. We are part of the historic event ushering in an era during which it will become true. All humans will be created equal, and opportunity will leave no one behind.
We are also part of an era of responsibility, in which every human takes an oath to "first do no harm," and all of us police each other from harming our environment.

Plants, animals, and humans will all benefit from the coming era of peace and prosperity.

Each and every time you Knight someone (men and women) and get them to take the oath, we incrementally move toward more peace and prosperity. We move toward a better world than has ever existed.

This movement is the Holy Grail. It is the "Stone Cut Without Hands" that rolls forth until it consumes the entire world. It is what men and women have dreamed of for thousands of years, and it is within our reach.

I invite you all to share this message with everyone you know and to ask them to take the oath, kneeling as a mortal and rising to a life of service wearing the mantle of Knighthood.

Where men have oppressed and exploited women in the past, I invite you to embrace a new, unprecedented era of empowerment and equality for all of humanity that will lead to greater harmony between flora and fauna and the greatest peace and prosperity the world has ever known.