Amelia Rising News Release ******************** In addition to providing crisis support and counselling to women survivors of sexual violence, Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing advocates for women’s rights on a local and global level.
Amelia Rising
News Release
********************
In addition to providing crisis support and counselling to women survivors of sexual violence, Amelia Rising Sexual Assault Centre of Nipissing advocates for women’s rights on a local and global level. On July 19th, Amelia Rising will bid a fond farewell to Kim Kitchen, the centre’s past-Outreach Counsellor and friend, as she makes her way on a five month journey to the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her main purpose for travelling this great distance is to work with the Mass Development Association (MAdeA), a Tanzanian NGO that develops programs for women and children specific to issues of domestic violence and sexual violence. Although Kim is making this journey as a live-long dream, she will also be reuniting with two young women who walked through the doors of Amelia Rising only ten months ago as participants of the Canada World Youth Program.
Much like all of the African delegates visiting North Bay through the Canada World Youth Program, Asra Issack and Lightness Makondo, both residents of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, arrived in North Bay in September of 2006 with the intention of volunteering their time in the service sector, improving their English and exploring a new culture. Amelia Rising welcomed these delegates with the intention of contributing to their Canadian experience over the course of their three month stay. Following the women’s second week at the centre, it became very clear that yes, Asra and Lightness were gaining new skills and experiences for their life bundle, but almost more importantly, they were providing the Centre’s staff with an immeasurable enlightened cultural awareness and two friendships that would last a lifetime.
In sharing their stories with the staff at the centre, it was revealed that both women are the eldest of large single-parent families where their mother’s (domestic violence survivors) work full-time earning only $50 CDN a month. As the eldest siblings, it is Asra and Lightness’ job to stay home, having already completed secondary school, and perform the household chores so that mom can work and pay for their younger siblings to attend elementary and secondary school. This will be their role until they are married. Although both women lovingly perform these duties daily in support of their families, they both expressed regret in having to return home after their exciting Canadian adventure with only laundry and household chores to look forward to. Although there were some tears shared that day while telling and listening to their stories, the underlying message was that they love their community and through adversity, their main goal is to attend University so that they can open a centre for orphaned youth in their city of Dar es Salaam.
Since Amelia Rising functions under the belief that local action brings global action, the centre immediately began looking at ways that it could raise money to send Asra and Lightness to University in Tanzania. Ten months later, the centre has successfully raised over $5,000, with a total goal of $11,000. The money raised will pay for all living and university related expenses including tuition and books for both young women to complete their preferred programs of study over a three-year period. It doesn’t seem like that much money when you consider how much a University education in Canada costs students these days. “These young women are some of the strongest I have ever met, states the centre’s Acting Executive Director, Nikoline Calcaterra. What I admire most about them both is that through their own adversity, they still want to help kids who are even less fortunate then themselves. They are the ones who will make this dream come true. What Amelia Rising has done is given them some tools. This is what we do for women in our own community everyday.”
On July 21st, Kim Kitchen will be arriving in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she will make contact with both Asra and Lightness with the intention of delivering to them the funding to pay for their first year of university. While visiting and working in Tanzania, Kim will be documenting her experiences, as well as those of the two young women as they begin their lifelong dream of obtaining undergraduate degrees. Pictures and journal entries will be available to view and read on the Amelia Rising website: www.ameliarising.ca.
For more information about what the centre is calling The School Project, or to find out how you can make a donation, please call 1-705-840-2403 or email us at
[email protected].
********************
