Every new year I draw on the words of my mentor Viktor who treated each new year as an exceptional gift.His conviction came from years of suffering and witnessing countless acts of depravity against innocent men ,women and children. He believed that suffering should not be sought, but when it arrives there is always an opportunity to use it to understand how precious every second of life is.He dedicated the new years to helping others see and believe that no matter how difficult the old year had been there would be moments when they could choose to find new meaning to their lives. This was in his opinion especially true when they dedicated some part of their year to the service of others.