Posts by: Robert Ford

6th International Symposium for Women

Over the weekend, I was honored to attend the 6th International Symposium for Women, held on the Sias campus. Saturday morning started early with opening ceremonies held in the sports stadium, where there were 5,000 students, faculty, dignitaries and VIPs in attendance. The opening ceremony lasted about two hours, and because the seats were very hard, I found myself fidgeting a lot. That stopped however, when Chung To, who was one of the keynote speakers got up to speak. Chung To is the Founder of the Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) which translates as “wisdom in action”. Growing up in China,…

Tell me about yourself

After a day of interviewing young women for the World Academy, Friday was a day of interviewing the young men. In total, I interviewed about 30 over the course of the day. I think that I mentioned before that there was never a plan for there to be a Men’s Academy for the Future of Women, but that it had come about because of the tenacious determination by a handful of young men on campus. In speaking with them, I find myself marveling at the fact that in such a traditional country, that they chose to take a stand on…

At Last

Even though it had only been 24 hours, I swear I could hear the strains of Etta James in my head, when I got back to my apartment to find my luggage waiting for me. it had been a very long first day in China. I’d woken up a couple of times in the night and managed to force myself back to sleep, but at 6am, I decided to get up and take a shower. That was easier said than done, as the all in one mini-bathtub / shower cubicle wasn’t really designed for the taller than average Westerner. I…

Bagless in China

  So here I am in central China, at the start of my two-week adventure. I’ve been on the Board of Sias International University for almost 4 years now, but because of scheduling conflicts, this is my first trip here. My trip here was a long one, a total of 29 hours door to door. It would have closer to 28 hours, if not for losing an hour in dealing with the fact that while I made it here, my bags didn’t. As I stood at the baggage carousel,I’d looked around me, realizing that I was the only non-Asian there….

Life in a Northern town

Life in a Northern town

My brothers and I were the first in our family to not go ‘down pit’. As far back as genealogical records go, the men in my family had been miners. Old family photos show how hard life was then, and the early deaths of the men in my family show just how dangerous and debilitating mining was. Thanks to our parents, our lives have been very different from theirs.

Losing and finding myself

Losing and finding myself

I was 17 when my mother died. She’d been ill for a long time. After her death, I was lost, as was my Dad. We didn’t seem to know how to support each other, and I found myself floundering. This is the story of how I found myself again.

A Quarter Away

A Quarter Away

Music has always been a big part of my life. My brother John has always been, and continues to be, a big part of my life, too. He used to look after me on Saturdays, and the money he got for that was always spent on buying records. At the time, I used to moan about being dragged from record store to record store, but they’re now some of my happiest childhood memories.

A Guy Called Joe

A Guy Called Joe

I’m staying in San Francisco all week, and US Airways managed to give my suitcase the ‘special treatment’ on the way over, such that I was a little concerned about whether it would make it home in one piece. I’m not quite sure what they did to it, but the vision of seeing dirty clothes strewn all over the baggage carousel made me decide to get a new one.

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