I went for the food – I stayed for the people

A conversation on diversity is incomplete without talking about religion.
According to Pew Research Center’s 2012 Global Religious Landscape Report seventy-five percent of world’s population belongs to five major religious groups.
The remainder is divided among minor groups. Plus the atheists, agnostics, and those unaffiliated with an organized religion group.

Throughout the history religion has had a great impact on our world – good and bad.
Today, more than ever, religious leaders need to develop strategies to eliminate sources of contention.
Teach tolerance.
Religious diversity needs to follow the path taken by the cultural diversity.
(That’s not to say acceptance of cultural diversity has reached its apex; but it’s light-years ahead of the religious one.)

People first, affiliations (class, religion, etc.) second
I have friends who have never set foot in church.
Good people who do outstanding work in the community.

And I know people who have used religion to turn their life around – in a good way.
I once worked with this guy who (by his own admission) used to be a wreck. Then he started attending church and turned his life around.

He has a wonderful family: wife and beautiful children. And a great job.

Economic status, religious or any other affiliations: none of these will tell you the whole story about a person’s character.
Or their values.
Good people do good things.

I went for the food; I stayed for the people
Growing up, going to church was something my grandparents did.
Religion did not play a major role under communism.

Several years ago, one of my closest friends said their church was having a free breakfast after the Easter service. She invited me to come.
(She knew food is my best incentive : )
This was a case of, “I went for the food; I stayed for the people.” I’ve met some wonderful people, including the pastor and his wife.     

Mariana Fieraru

Mariana Fieraru, an Eastern European transplant, fell in love with her new home shortly after landing in New York. She "discovered" pizza! Years later she still loves pizza. And so do her two feathered-kids, Sunny and Flipper

Mariana worked on both, the east and the west coast.
Big or small, each project she worked on helped define the importance of gaining and sustaining a competitive edge in an increasingly complex business environment.

Business know-how, love of teaching and writing – all combined in 2006 to form OBI.
Its mission: to make learning fun! And easy.

Through its training, consulting, and publications OBI builds bridges of knowledge to take you from where you are to
where you want to go. Using a mix of serious, informal, analytical, and optimistic approach, OBI truly makes learning fun.

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