My name is Kate Korbel and I live in Mt. Shasta, California with Bill, my husband and love of 33 years. I am the proud mother of two wonderful young adults, Marissa age 26, and Joshua age 24, and stepmom to Bill Jr., who I am delighted to claim as my own. He has blessed me with two grandchildren, Hannah, 9 and Wil, 7. My children were, and still are my greatest teachers. I am fond of saying that I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom, and it was the hardest job I ever loved!
I was born and raised in San Francisco, and came of age during the sixties, which has had a lasting impact on my life. I have always been a "we" thinker, focusing on ways we can make positive changes in our lives and our world. My first step, of course, was to begin with me. I embraced all the wonder and the challenges of my childhood, recognizing that this was a "curriculum" I had chosen for myself long ago. It was not always easy, and there have been scary and painful moments, but the healing of these has helped me grow stronger and become the person I am today. I was blessed to have attended an incredible summer camp, El Rancho Navarro, each summer from age 8 until age 16. As I've grown older I realize the huge impact this had on my life. This is where I learned about, lived, and embraced the ideals of "community".
My heart's desire for many, many years has been to create a multi-cultural, multi-generational living and learning center. A place where families, however they are defined, can come together and spend time learning how to listen, and learn from each other. There is wisdom to be gained from other family lifestyles, other cultural backgrounds, and exposure to people of different generations and experiences. There would be a focus on sustainable living, and envisioning new ways of being and sharing our lives on this tiny, miraculous, Earth home.
My involvement with Peace by Peace has helped me grow along this path. My sister circle here has been a place of growing and learning. We range in age from mid thirties to late sixties, and have a wealth of skills and experiences that we share. We have learned a great deal about cultural sensitivity and seeing things from the perspective of our sister circle in Mubende, Uganda. In our relationship with them, we have had to think about the words we use and how they may or may not translate. We've read about life in Uganda, talked to people who have been there, and challenged many of our assumptions. We wanted to create a relationship of mutual support and sisterhood, knowing that we have a lot to gain by listening and learning from our sisters in Africa. I am grateful to all the women at Peace by Peace who have helped make this connection possible. It is truly one of the highlights of my life and gives me a feeling of purpose and connection to a beautiful International Sisterhood.