Hello!
So this month has been pretty ordinary but was not without fun. First, I started taking the girls to Strong Start - wait, let me backup and say that: I. LOVE. CANADA! Maybe it has been the many years of living in not quite fully developed countries but living in a place that has so many activities for kids, better than that FREE, just my head spinning with the multitude of choice. On a daily basis I can choose to take the kids to the park (in Surabaya the only outdoor parks were in the gated the schools that you had to attend to use), the library (there were no libraries in Surabaya) where the librarian does storytelling sessions, playgroups at the Boys and Girls club, the Strong Start program (a kindergarden prep thing that lets parents play and learn with their kids), plus all of the regular festivals and events in the city. On top of that we joined a local gym with a fabulous indoor water park, Emilie is going to a French preschool twice a week, we could go to an indoor jungle gym, and the list goes on. The real trick is actually getting everyone dressed and out the door, which, to be honest is NO SMALL FEAT and does not happen most days. :S
Anyway, I have been taking the girls to Strong Start a couple of days a week and they love it! There are great play stations, craft/science time, reading, etc. and it is free. Wow! I honestly wish we could take a leave from the Foreign Service and stay here for the next 5 years. Oh well.
So this month has been pretty ordinary but was not without fun. First, I started taking the girls to Strong Start - wait, let me backup and say that: I. LOVE. CANADA! Maybe it has been the many years of living in not quite fully developed countries but living in a place that has so many activities for kids, better than that FREE, just my head spinning with the multitude of choice. On a daily basis I can choose to take the kids to the park (in Surabaya the only outdoor parks were in the gated the schools that you had to attend to use), the library (there were no libraries in Surabaya) where the librarian does storytelling sessions, playgroups at the Boys and Girls club, the Strong Start program (a kindergarden prep thing that lets parents play and learn with their kids), plus all of the regular festivals and events in the city. On top of that we joined a local gym with a fabulous indoor water park, Emilie is going to a French preschool twice a week, we could go to an indoor jungle gym, and the list goes on. The real trick is actually getting everyone dressed and out the door, which, to be honest is NO SMALL FEAT and does not happen most days. :S
Anyway, I have been taking the girls to Strong Start a couple of days a week and they love it! There are great play stations, craft/science time, reading, etc. and it is free. Wow! I honestly wish we could take a leave from the Foreign Service and stay here for the next 5 years. Oh well.
(Fun times at Strong Start)
(Scenes from "Le Festival de L'Erable" - The Maple Festival)
Hmmmm...what else is new? I’ve been pretty busy volunteering with IWEN. Did I tell you about that? Now that I think about it I don’t believe I did. Well, IWEN stands for Inter-cultural Women’s Educational Network (www.IWENCanada.com) and they are a non-profit that offers education opportunities to immigrant women in the Okanagan and females in Nepal. The work in Nepal is particularly fascinating. You see, Nepal is an impoverished country and some families are so poor that they will sell their daughters into slavery. These girls are sold into indentured servitude as young as 5 or 6 years old. They leave their families to go live with their employer where they will work atrocious hours. They are treated poorly, often beaten verbally and physically (sometimes sexually). They don’t get the chance to attend school. If the parents choose to renew the contract the following year (which they usually do) the girl is forced to stay and will stay until she marries, probably the young age of 14-16 years and her new family will likely fall into the same cycle. It breaks my heart to imagine how desperate these parents must be to let their sweet little girls go, the promise of money to feed other family members and with the hope that the wealthy family will take care of their daughter fueling their decision. Do you want to know the kicker? Do you know how much these families are paid? About $40...per YEAR!
~Katie
So, here’s where IWEN comes in. We meet with the families and explain how girls are REALLY treated under this system and then offer them a choice. If they agree to not renew their daughter’s contract we will provide them a small financial incentive (usually a goat or chicken) and then give the girl educational assistance so she can go to school. This means that IWEN covers her test fees, pays for her uniform, oil for her lamp so she can study, etc. The girls are able to go to school, be KIDS and are given the chance to break out of this cycle of poverty.
In addition to this program, IWEN offers literacy classes for mothers, runs a micro-credit group, does day programs for mentally challenged females and has done teacher training.
So where do I fit in? Well, in order to make sure that as much money as possible goes directly to the cause, much of the organization is run by volunteers. I am volunteering on the board of directors as the vice president. I’ve been working with the executive director (also a volunteer despite her impressive qualifications many years of experience) on program development, board governance, media, fundraising, etc. It takes a lot of time but I found that I have a real passion for development which makes it fun.
Anyway, so that is what is up with us this month. We are counting down the days until Daniel’s next visit.
March's Photo Album
No comments:
Post a Comment