Canadian and Rwandan Community Connections
Connecting communities:
Extending a hand in solidarity
Brittany Morris discusses her fundraising and awareness-raising
efforts for Rwanda in Mill Bay, BC. Introduction by Lama Mugabo.
Connecting communities: Lama Mugabo on Brittany
Morris
Brittany is a remarkable young woman. I received her e-mail
last June inviting me to speak at an event she was organizing in
Mill Bay, Vancouver Island. She explained to me how she listened
to me speak at the Amnesty Film Festival at UVIC (Victoria) and
decided to organize a video night and use films to engage students
in a social justice issues discussion.
Unfortunately, it was during the Third World Urban Forum week and I was extremely busy. Since I couldn¹t attend the event, I asked Deanna; a friend of mine who had just returned from Rwanda if she could cover for me. She gracefully agreed. Deanna was completing her MA degree at Royal Roads University and had recently returned from Rwanda on a research trip. From what I gathered from Brittany, the talk went very well and the group had an awesome discussion, using Deana¹s photos to tell the story of post-genocide Rwanda. The students raised $300.00, which Brittany managed to send me the day I was catching my flight to Kigali, Rwanda. I took the money to Rwanda and used it to help members of Abangakurutwa Women Association in Kigali. The beneficiaries of this community initiative were Rose and Belice. Rose is a single parent, and a survivor of the 1994 genocide. She heads of a household of seven children that she takes care of against all odds. Rose invested the money into small trade by forming a lending circle with a group of women to sell women clothing. They import the clothes from Tanzania and sell them to teachers. The second beneficiary is Belice, a brilliant young student who has just finished secondary school. Belice is from a very modest home. Her parents are poor and are unable to pay for her studies. She used the money to take English lessons, as she wants to study nursing in an English university. Both Rose and Belice are very grateful to the students at Mill Bay and Brittany¹s effort.
Extending
a hand in solidarity
By Brittany Morris
“No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big”, is a quote that beholds the truth which is unrecognizable to a closed eye, but breathes life to those who envision facing the challenge, and take action. Youth of today are given endless opportunities to make a difference in the world, and these opportunities are the gateway to how I can make the world a better place by fulfilling my imperishable desire to encourage and help others in my community and around the world.
I’m 18 years old, and have grown up in the beautiful rural town of Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, in a single parent household with my mom and younger brother. My roots for global change began at age 6 when I started a “Save the World” club at Discovery Elementary School. I already wanted to make a difference and began on an environmental aspect. Along with my creative mind and exuberant imagination I put up posters advertising ways to keep the earth healthy, sending inquiries to the government, marching on school playgrounds with signs showing my concerns. Additionally I did projects to learn more on endangered animals, another issue I cared for. I had fellow students and my friends join me in my young activism, and though no major advances occurred, I continued having a passion for the world, global issues and what was negatively affecting people.
Anatole France said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but believe”,-- my passion and strength to believe is strong. I believe that society today has the potential to make permanent change, and I also believe that us as global citizens can all be the change and make a lasting difference. In my community I’ve been the educated and the educator. From attending symposiums and conferences, to putting on workshops and organizing fundraisers, I realized as I was learning that from I had instigated I was lending a hand to the global community and making a difference in my own high school. I founded and became the chair of the first Current Global Issues Club of Frances Kelsey Secondary School. This club was only the beginning. I organized a landmine awareness week and Night of 1000 Dinners, began and produced The Globalist a school newspaper revolving on students voices revolving around issues they want people to hear about. From landmines to newspapers, students became interested and I was happy knowing that awareness of issues I was passionate about, were getting others to think, act, and join. Additionally I organized an African Awareness Night focusing on Rwanda and the ’94 genocide, in which the money raised went to Building Bridges with Rwanda.
Many people see Africa as a corrupt continent of despair and famine. They forget the love, music, art and endurance. Currently issues are facing the people of Africa that we are strangers to living in Canada or the Western world. Though there are issues being dealt with at hand, there is history, and some history can not be forgotten. At an Amnesty International Film Fest at UVic, Lama Mugabo spoke about Building Bridges with Rwanda, I watched the video that was shown, and was inspired. I found that night I was positively impacted on what I had seen and heard, and I took that as my motivation. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide may be out of the papers and fails to show up on television, but it should never be forgotten. An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed, how can one forget that? It’s hard to acknowledge that it already happened, but that only means we can now act to prevent other genocides from occurring by raising awareness on what happened to the “land of a thousand hills” and rebuild Rwanda’s economy, and Rwandan’s lives, encouraging them and giving their futures hope. I hope to encourage others to do the same in helping prevent and rebuild, give their voice and act to make the change they want to see in the world.
I graduated in June and what I left at the school continues on. The Globalist remains in production, the awareness nights continue, and the club flourishes along with over 50 members. This September I went to Ghana to be a volunteer teacher in a poverty stricken fishing town called Senya Beraku, at Mother Theresa School for Girls. I lived there for 6 months teaching English, Science, Math, Health and Sexual Education, and women’s empowerment. This following September I’ll be attending UBC in Vancouver, where I hope to continue making a difference in my school, community, country and to those around the world. Thank you to all who are not shielding away from making the world a better place.
