UNESCO Brazil promoted a composition contest on the topic: “How to Stop Poverty and Inequality” – A young member of the Vincent dePaul Society used the metaphor of a recipe for baking a cake and took home the prize.

From the total of 41.329 compositions that entered the contest, only five students won the main prize, a one week visit to Paris. One of them is Rodrigo de Castro Resende, a university student from Viçosa and an active Vincentian of more than 10 years, who came to visit us at the Confederation’s Headquarters. Read the beautiful text he wrote…

“…appreciate the cake’s taste of equality
and of freedom, the taste of security,
the taste of common welfare and
the taste of a more human country.”

Rodrigo de Castro Resende
Universidade Federal de Viçosa – Viçosa – MG

LET’S MAKE A CAKE?

Recipe to make a fair, democratic and equalitarian country: start preparing the dough with
affection, determination and responsibility; these are essential elements so that in the end we
have a good result. Separate the ingredients, a bottle (quite full) of honest politicians, two spoons
of well-equipped public hospitals, three doses of public schools with motivated teachers and
students, some leaves of public Security, but this one has to be special, that one that comes with
equipped police officers and prisons that work in an educational manner
and not only punishing.

Place all the ingredients in a huge baking pan. Mix the ingredients well; after all, in a country with
so many races and so many cultures, a good mixing is always good. When the dough is with well-

defined colors (a very deep green and a shinning yellow) it is time to follow to the next stage ofthe recipe.

Put to boil a liter of public housing policies, plus a liter of decent water supply and basic sewage
systems, besides two more liters of social programs for human promotion which involve
education (you must have noticed that education is what will give our cake the special flavor).

Now mix the simmered mixture with the dough prepared before and put it in the oven. The cake
will be ready within half an hour. Let’s go to the topping. The topping, as usual, must be
something sweet, so let’s take two spoons of good treatments for the children and women of our
country, a cup of respect for the elder and four relishes of fairer taxes appropriately invested. Mix
everything.

When many stars are coming out of our cake it is a sign that our recipe is very good. Take it from
the oven and pour the topping. Put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes and when you notice it is
quite solid it is time to taste it. Eat it slowly; appreciate the cake’s taste of equality and of freedom,
the taste of security, the taste of the common welfare and the taste of a more human country.

Do this as many times as you wish.

Source: http://www.ozanet.org/datospdf/doc_0326_en.pdf?edicion=388

What would you peace cake involve? Share your ideas.


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