Sam Daley-Harris joins Walk Talk Listen to reflect on an unlikely journey that began in Miami, Florida, where he grew up in an observant Jewish household and discovered a love of music that eventually led him to play percussion in the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra and teach high school music. Experiences around the deaths of a friend and Robert F. Kennedy prompted Sam to begin asking questions that would stay with him: “Why am I here? What am I here to do? What’s my purpose?” A 1977 presentation on ending world hunger then challenged his assumption that hunger was inevitable. Sam realized that while he might feel hopeless about human nature, there was one human nature he could do something about: his own.

That realization eventually contributed to Sam founding RESULTS in 1980, followed by his work with the Microcredit Summit Campaign and Civic Courage. In the conversation, Sam explores what he calls “transformational advocacy”: not only working to change policies and systems, but creating the support that enables people to do things they never thought they could do and, in the process, see themselves differently. Maurice and Sam also talk about younger generations, faith and spirituality, fear, cynicism and hope, the Sustainable Development Goals and Inner Development Goals, and why organizations sometimes underestimate what volunteers are capable of. Near the end, Sam asks whether something in the conversation might have “sparked some excitement, sparked some hope, sparked some new sense of possibility.” Music, fittingly, remains part of his story, with Sam choosing Dan Hill’s Hold On and Peter Mayer’s Holy Now as pieces that speak to who he is.

• Learn more about Sam and Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy at reclaimingourdemocracy.com. You can also learn about his work through Civic Courage and RESULTS, and follow Sam on LinkedIn and Instagram (@samdaleyharris). Sam specifically invited listeners who would like to learn more or explore ways of getting involved to complete his Sign-up Sheet.
• Don’t only listen to Hold On by Dan Hill and Holy Now by Peter Mayer, Sam’s music choices, but also the songs picked by other guests on the Walk Talk Listen Spotify playlist.
• Share your feedback on this episode through our Walk Talk Listen Feedback link – your thoughts matter!

• Support Walk Talk Listen by following the 100 Mile Hunger Walk on Facebook and Instagram.

• Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information.

• Check out the special Walk Talk Listen series Enough for All and learn more about the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI).

Dr. Elisabet “Lisa” le Roux joins Walk Talk Listen from Stellenbosch, South Africa, and takes us back to her childhood as the youngest of four children, growing up in a home where faith, theology, books and conversations were part of everyday life. Her father was a minister and later taught theology at Stellenbosch University, while her parents modeled a conviction that became a kind of guiding light for Lisa: your life should make a positive difference, even if that difference is small. Lisa also recalls becoming aware of gender inequality remarkably early, including a childhood encounter with a library registration form that made her wonder why women, but not men, were defined by whether they were married.

That early journey eventually took Lisa to the mountains of Lesotho, where living alongside people affected by HIV/AIDS profoundly shaped the direction of her life, and later into nearly two decades of research on religion, gender equality and violence against women and girls. Today, through her work with Stellenbosch University and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), Lisa continues to explore the complicated role of religion: faith communities can help challenge violence and harmful norms, while at the same time sometimes reinforcing them. Lisa talks about listening, participatory and feminist approaches to research, and what researchers themselves must be willing to learn and unlearn. She also reflects on hope and why, when the problems of the world feel overwhelming, she intentionally chooses to “go small picture” and focus on the difference we can make in the lives immediately around us. Her musical choice is Toto’s Africa.

• Learn more about Lisa’s work through Stellenbosch University and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI).
• Don’t only listen to “Africa” by Toto, Lisa’s song choice, but also the songs picked by other guests on the Walk Talk Listen Spotify playlist.
• Share your feedback on this episode through our Facebook and Instagram.
• Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information.
• Check out the special Walk Talk Listen series Enough for All and learn more about the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI) and its work connecting evidence, learning, faith and locally rooted experience.

Andrés Martínez-García is a psychologist and peacebuilder whose professional journey began with people directly affected by Colombia's decades of violence. Born and raised in Bogotá, Andrés recalls a happy childhood while recognizing how much his parents did to protect him and his twin brother from dangers they did not always fully understand at the time. His first job as a psychologist brought him face-to-face with that other Colombian reality, providing psychosocial support to landmine survivors and victims of violence. The experience convinced him that addressing trauma alone was not enough without also confronting the conditions that produce violence. It eventually led him into peacebuilding and to a lifelong interest in how psychology, peace, religion and spirituality intersect. A particularly formative moment came when a patient asked him to pray with her, leaving the young psychologist wondering where professional boundaries ended and the spiritual dimensions of healing began.

Today, Andrés is Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI), where he helps lead the LAC Regional Learning Hub and works at the intersection of faith, mental health, evidence and locally led development. In this conversation, we explore why sustainable peace requires attention to trauma and personal and community healing; the religious diversity of Latin America and the Caribbean; what younger generations may be teaching us about spirituality, institutions and connection; and why local organizations and religious actors need to help determine the questions that research asks rather than simply participate in someone else's agenda. Andrés also responds to Doug Fountain's question about loneliness, reflects on his hopes and concerns for his daughter in an increasingly technological world, and explains why Bob Marley's Redemption Song speaks so deeply to his work and who he is. Before we finish, he adds Mercedes Sosa's Gracias a la Vida, another song that holds pain and suffering together with hope.

• Learn more about Andrés and his work through his LinkedIn profile. You can also learn more about the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI) and follow JLI on its social media channels.
• Don't only listen to Bob Marley's Redemption Song and Mercedes Sosa's Gracias a la Vida, picked by Andrés, but also the songs chosen by other guests on our #walktalklisten playlist here.
• Share your feedback on this episode through our link – your thoughts matter!

• Support the Walk Talk Listen podcast by following us on Facebook and Instagram.
• Visit 100mile.org or mauricebloem.com for more episodes and information about our work.
• Check out the special series "Enough for All" and learn more about the work of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI).