Women with Cameras

We are delighted to welcome back British photojournalist Lee Karen Stow. Lee visited us last year to tell us about the Women with Cameras project in Sierra Leone. She has more stories to share, about the brave and determined women who through photography are improving their lives in that desperately poor country. Francess Ngaboh-Smart, one of the Women with Cameras members, has overcome obstacles and barriers to become a sought-after professional who uses her photographic talent to document the changes in her country. We had hoped to host Francess this summer, but she was denied a visa to visit Canada. We will have some of her work for sale.

Lee will also tell us about the amazing members of the Sierra Leone Women’s Boxing team, who are, quite literally, fighting to improve their lives and bring home the first Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing.

Tickets are $20 at the door. Join us for tea/coffee and dessert. Proceeds will go to the Women with Cameras project.

Date: Wednesday August 24, 2011
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Place: Coquitlam Public Library, Poirier Branch

Civil Society, Vaginas, 50 Billion Dollars and Poutine: A huge day at the Soroptimist International Convention in Montreal.

Day 5.  Montreal.  Soroptimist International Convention.  What an absolutely inspiring day!  I had to write more than the 420 characters that facebook allows me to use, so I’m just going to use our Soroptimist club’s blog.  I can’t even come close to doing justice to the plenary speakers today, so I’ll just try to capture a bit of the substance and my reaction.

The first plenary speaker today was the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, the Former Governor General of Canada, one of the most dynamic women I’ve ever heard speak.  She spoke on “Women: Leaders in Civil Society”, and I’m convinced the collective ego of the Canadian contingent present grew exponentially by the end of her session.

A few highlights:

• A civil society is made up of analysis, acceptance, curiosity and generousness of spirit.  We live in a society of difference.  We don’t need to like or love everyone; we just need to give voice to everyone.
• Canada is recognized around the world as a place where all people’s voices can be heard.  80% of the immigrants to Canada become Citizens within 3 – 5 years, unlike the US, which is only 48%.
• “Knowing a person’s story helps build a country’s strength”.
• “The most important thing in a family is the unrealized dreams of the parents” Carl Jung
• After fleeing Hong Kong after the Japanese invaded, she came to Canada as a 4 year old.  She lived at 227 Sussex.  Eventually she moved up the street to home of the Governor General at #1 Sussex!
• Organically, nothing stands in an individual’s way if they want to succeed here.  “Once you get to Canada, you are transformed”.
• We have had ugly periods of history, but look how fast we can change.
• Don’t put into other people’s minds what is in our own.

Adrienne Clarkson just radiated a warmth and conviction of character.  She had strong opinions on Thatcher, the importance of not choosing career over family, and the need to act individually but with respect for society and community and figuring out how we can all live with difference.

I didn’t think the next plenary speaker could match up, but I was in for some more serious wow factor.  Dr. Samantha Nutt is a 41 year old power house – a Canadian doctor who founded Warchild.ca.  Advocating for peace and social justice, she has worked in the most horrific war zones in the world: Darfur, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, DR of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and more.  Her talk was eye-opening.  Highlights (or lowlights, considering the subject matter) include:

• Don’t assume the women’s movement is over.  Our complacency is dangerous.  We must keep advocating for human rights for all.
• 70%of the world’s poor are women.
• The universality of the female experience.  She and a colleague attended a small Somalian village to talk to the women about the horrible practice of genital mutilation.  Outside the hut, the men were peering in until the eldest woman hollered out something in her native dialect.  Dr. Nutt got the translation. “Men, we are talking about vaginas in here.  Either come in and listen or get the hell out of here”.  They, like most men, dispersed at the vagina discussion.
• Democratic Republic of Congo – 5 MILLION people dead since 1995.  Worst war since WWII.
• ½ of the fighters are children forced into fighting.
• Rape is a widely used tool, making this a war against women
• Basically it is an un-war – a war over control of economic resources (minerals, timber, gems, coal tan (80% of the world’s coaltan comes from Congo, and it is used exclusively in electronics we all use, cell phones, computers, etc…)).  The militias take control of the resources and sell it for money or weapons. The closer to coaltan mines, the higher the incidence of rape.  It becomes a climate of impunity.  The purchasers may be acting on behalf of governments or corporations.
• Don’t be paralysed by an unwillingness to try.
• True social change begins with
  • Knowledge and information.  Learn about issues.  Get informed.  Advocate.
  • Donations.  Give time.  Give dollars.  For every year of education a girl receives, the birth mortality rate improves by 10%!
  • Socially responsible consumer and investment purchases.  Find out who the 100 top arms manufacturers are.  Check out SIPRI.  Check out www.theenoughproject.org to find out how ethically made products are.  Don’t buy blood products!
  • Listen to the stories of people and defend their rights.  Don’t allow those suffering to be silenced.  We can do something.  Find our voices.

You could not believe the energy level and the buzz of the 1200 women present in that room! And all of this was BEFORE lunch.

On a lunch tangent, I do believe that Montreal doesn’t do multi-grain or whole wheat bread.  All I have discovered is fluffy white bread that calls out desperately for butter and cheese and more cheese.  I think that Quebec has something great going on with bread.

After lunch, the workshops were smaller sessions attended by about 100.  I attended a session on Fair Trade with an excellent example of a Scottish town becoming a Fair Trade town.  Very interesting content, and I’m amazed at how far ahead Europe is in supporting fair trade – essentially a movement ensuring that 3^rd world producers are paid a fair wage for their products – than North America.  The benefits are numerous and we Canadians have a lot to learn and improvements to make in this area.

I also attended another amazing workshop presented by Soroptimists in Zimbabwe about their project that involved getting 50 girls to take photos of their lives and create art, essentially to “let the pictures tell a story”.   Incredibly moving photos and stories will be displayed in a gallery in Bulawayo.  The 10 year financial crisis of Zimbabwe was a huge backdrop to the individual stories which were about the brutal poverty most face, loss of family due to aids (although the aids rate has dropped from 60-20% due to education), abuse by relatives, harassment by boys, restriction to “chores”, no time for school, great distances to school.  $6 Canadian will send a girl to school for a year!  (Let me know if you would like the Soroptimist club’s bank account info to wire money).  They also would like bicycles to help girls bridge the distance to get to schools (often 20km away) and solar lights so the girls and families can read once the chores are done.  These Soroptimist women in Zimbabwe are just making such a huge difference in this country with a 95% unemployment rate!  Madeline, one of the speakers, joked that Obama had nothing on her country.  She gave me a 50 Billion Dollar Bill (SERIOUSLY) and said that wasn’t sufficient to buy a loaf of bread at the height of the financial crisis in her country.

Day 1 of actual content was simultaneously inspiring, depressing, overwhelming and energizing; I experienced such a range of emotions that I was wiped by 5pm.  However, that was quickly rectified by a Montreal thunder and lightning storm while we were on rue Jacques Cartier, a bite of Dana’s poutine and the most divine chocolate almond croissant ever.

Looking forward to tomorrow!