In a quest to glean perspectives from the community concerning increasing parental and community engagement, I invited Irene Olive Cates to share her perspective on this vitally important issue.
Cates wrote: May I start off by breaking down self-sustainability in its individual form.
Definition: Self is the essential qualities distinguishing one person from another.
Sustain: To supply with necessities or nourishment; to provide for.
Ability: The quality of being able to do something, essentially the physical, mental, financial or legal power to accomplish something.
Now let’s analyze the breakdown of self-sustainability.
The total essential or particular being of a person to keep in existence the quality of being able to do something physically, mentally, financially or legally for self.
We as people must be able to sustain ourselves and our families for we are the first defense mechanism when it comes to self-preservation and one cannot preserve self without the proper training. This training starts mentally (free your mind and the rest will follow).
We must over stand the love for oneself in order to carry out this complex task of self-sustainability. By knowing how to grow and cultivate your own foods will allow us the ability to be producers and not just consumers. Self-education is also a vital component of sustainability; literacy allows the development of a person’s mind set and with education comes power.
The power to change one’s own circumstances (For you can strip me of everything, yet my mind is mine to keep!)
When the parents and/or caring adult realize that self-sustainability is the roots to our tree of life, then the gap between parent and child engagement will significantly diminish. Equipping the parents with the knowledge of survival in totality will essentially increase parental engagement and ultimately result in a cohesive love-bond between child and parent. —Irene Olive Cates
Reminder: Parents and caring adults: All power comes from and to each of us from the Lord. When parents are engaged, the child will and must succeed. Without the Lord, nothing is possible!
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Pastor Rainey
