Food for thought ...
While working on integration policy you come across striking stories or experiences from other cultures like  a story, a quote or a proverb.
	During a visit to Child Life Line, a project that supports street children in Lagos, I met amazing children and young men. One of them sent me the following contribution to my website by email: A street child is a child that is born once, but abandoned twice, and if abandoned thrice, becomes a cynic. David Job Ayuba, student (Technical College Student), Lagos, Nigeria. He experienced street life as a child
If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders Welcome to the visitors of a primary school in Canada
	A drop in the ocean is better than nothing. Trevor Ncube, Publisher in South Africa and Zimbabwe
On democracy and the right to advocate your rights: A baby who does not cry dies in the sling. Zimbabwe, Shona proverb
A zebra takes its stripes wherever it goes. Maasai proverb	Integrating while keeping your own identity, is this still your motto? "Sure, I think it is a condition for a successful integration in society. It would be ridiculous i fit was otherwise… You or your parents lived in a completely different environment, you still speak the language of the country you came from and you still visit your homeland. And then we should ask to let go of your roots? It is not soft to think this is nonsense. The demand to focus on the Dutch society can go together with the celebration of your own identity." Karst Veling, director Johan de Witt college, The Hague, in: Contrast, 27 February 2004
During a meeting of the Somali community with politicians the issue of integration in Dutch society is debated. A lot of complaints are expressed and in general people are negative about the progress that has been made. An old man stands up to tell a story: "In Somalia one day rivalry arose between two clans. More than 5.000 men told the chief that they were prepared for a fight. All of a sudden someone wondered how he could distinguish his fellow combatants from the enemy. It was decided to make head tapes from the bark of a tree. Someone raised his had and said: 'that is too much work to make 5.000 head tapes. We will never finish this job in time.' The chief  replied: 'If everybody makes its own head tape, the job is done swiftly.' Look, said the old man in the meeting, it is the same with integration. If we all sit back and wait there will be no progress. But if we all take one step, we are already on the right track."
	You cannot slaughter a sheep without a knife. Somali man on the importance of learning the Dutch language
The strength of a warrior is in the spirit, not in the body. Indian proverb
	Every intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. You need a lot of wisdom and courage to move into the opposite direction. Albert Einstein
Someone who works has always sufficient, someone who begs has never enough. Somali proverb
	The true intention is not always delivered by the tongue. Somali proverb
The tears of the mother are the grief of the child. Refugee parent
	Integration is a two way process You cannot kill a flee with one finger Maasai proverb
	Not everything that counts can be counted, Not everything that can be counted, counts. Albert Einstein
On education: When the cow eats, the calf is looking at her mouth. Nigerian proverb
	On wearing a headscarf by Muslim women: It is the head that counts, not the scarf. Moroccan woman
Nobody was born superior to all others Maasai proverb