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Mrs. Vera Tembo Chiluba, Former First Lady of Republic of Zambia Former First Lady, Vera T. Chiluba, is the wife to the 2nd Republican President, Frederick T. J. Chiluba from 1991-2001. She has diploma in Public Speaking, She was member of Parliament of Kasenengwa Constituency from 2006 to 2011. She pursued political career of her own, becoming Multiparty Movement for Democracy (MMD) Chairperson for Women's Affairs. She was appointed as a Deputy Minister of Environment in 2006. She formed Hope Foundation in 1994 because she has a passion for looking after children. She has since taken up pastoral ambitions, establishing the Healing International Ministry. She is a Peace Ambassador and attended several of UPF International conferences in Korea. Speech read by her daughter, Ms. Verocia Kaimba Chiluba. |
Ms. Verocia Kaimba Chiluba began by expressing her appreciation for the opportunity to participate in the webinar on behalf of her mother, and conveyed greetings from the former First Lady to the audience and read her speech.
The disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis is now clear to all.
While the disruption to our societies is deeply regretted and the mortalities even more so, Covid-19 has, by shutting us down, forced us all to take time from our busy schedules to reflect, even if briefly, on some fundamental questions about our existence: Are we so vulnerable? Are we living correctly? What is in store for our future?
Yes, we are at risk!
All we are able to do at the moment is to contain the spread of the pandemic, waiting for a vaccine to be found which will expectantly come soon.
As our social lives and economic activities have been severely restricted, we have been reflecting on our core values of life and our relationships to those closest to us as well as our responsibilities in a free society.
Hopefully, we can lift up our gazes from the competitive daily struggles aimed at our survival to a higher, loftier scope. Balance both opposites and liberate our minds: “Peace begins with me”- as the renowned Founders of UPF often remind us. After all, what kind of world do we wish to leave behind for our children?
For this reason, Covid-19 is a critical opportunity for us all to reset and reboot our lives as individuals, and collectively as families, nations and the world. From this perspective, it will indeed be tragic if, post Covid-19, we once again settle into the standard and norms of life in the pre-Covid-19 days.
This webinar, the International Leadership Conference, inspired by the UPF must therefore be applauded for inviting all these experienced and distinguished leaders taking a lead in the internal reflections and conversations that must necessarily take place for individuals, societies, nations and the world to reset and walk a new path of mutual prosperity based on universal values! Time has come for such an important symposium to take place. Our our future lives are at stake.
I am happy and grateful to be part of it.
I thank you all for your precious time in this great endeavour of our time.
May God Bless you.