Via - Events like the World Partnership Walk help raise money and awareness for the fight against global poverty
Salima Habib knows first-hand what the face of poverty looks like and that gives her a unique perspective on the importance of events like the World Partnership Walk.The World Partnership Walk is Canada's largest annual event dedicated to increasing awareness and raising funds to fight global poverty. London's 14th edition of the walk is being held on Sunday, June 6, at Springbank Gardens.
It was just a few years ago that Ms. Habib, who serves as convenor for the London walk, was traveling in Kenya when she came across a young girl who was looking to her for help. The experience is one that inspired Ms. Habib to take a more active role in the fight against global poverty.
"There was one moment a young girl came up to me asking for water, I was annoyed because I assumed she wanted money. That really hit me. She needed water, she was looking for a way to get water and I wasn't listening," Ms. Habib says. "So when I came back, I got more involved in the walk, started raising more funds for the walk, and volunteered at the walk. The following year I was invited to be a part of the core team and I was excited, I said yes, absolutely. So I learned a lot more about the walk and the projects it supports."
Organized by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, which is a part of the Aga Khan Development Network, the World Partnership Walk takes place in 10 cities across Canada, as well as communities around the world.
Years prior to her trip to Kenya, Ms. Habib says she learned a new appreciation for just how important events such as the World Partnership Walk can be.
"When I was six or seven, my parents took me to the walk and it was fun. Those are my initial memories. For me, I got more involved after a visit to Pakistan five years ago; I realized how fortunate I was. I think at first for me it was a fun event, but then it really started to take meaning for me," Ms. Habib says. "It taught me I am very fortunate, but it also taught me you can't assume what these people need. I looked at my cousins, some of the poor children that came up to me asking for money. That became the norm, that's the image we normally have when we think of poverty in these counties. But we don't realize these individuals have needs they can very well articulate and if we address those needs, we can make a bigger difference."
In the past few years, Ms. Habib says, the London event has really started to attract a larger audience.
"Last year we raised a little over $96,000. Over the past five years it has really picked up speed, so we are really looked forward to seeing what the walk will do this year and years to come. Londoners have responded in several ways, in terms of donations and support," Ms. Habib says. "Last year we had close to 600 people come out. When I came on board three years ago it was 300 people, so just in the past few years it has really started to grow."
Afsana Alladina, 15, a Grade 10 at Central Secondary School, has been a part of that growth.
Afsana, who has been participating in the walk since she was five years old, says from an early age she knew she had to do what she could to help those in need.
"I started collecting for the walk because I really wanted to help people who didn't have the same resources that we did. I just felt we should help those in need because we can't take for granted what we have. Even as a kid, I always just thought every one should help," Afsana says. "The partnership walk was always a very big thing in the community; my parents have always been involved. So I have just always been a part of it."
The awareness that Afsana has shown is something Ms. Habib has to be encouraged in everyone.
"There isn't enough awareness. Global poverty is a silent disaster we don't normally see in the headlines or on the news. So the World Partnership Walk is a way of raising that awareness. Just as important as raising funds, I believe raising awareness is just as important," Ms. Habib says. "During the walk we have an exhibit called the global village. It allows people to come into this mini exhibit, to walk through an interactive display, to see how the funds raised can help people in the developing world."
Funds raised by the walk, Ms. Habib says, help projects supported by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada in four key areas – health, education, rural development and strengthening community-based organizations.
"We can't say your funds will go to creating a school. There are no silver bullets when it comes to poverty," Ms. Habib says. "How can you have a school without qualified teachers or healthy children to go to schools? The funds raised target these four areas which in themselves support all four areas together."
Ms. Habib says one of the biggest problems faced in the fight against poverty in developing nations is the belief by some that they understand just what the problems are in the first place.
"You would think the community elders would be more concerned about having a school for the children. But I discovered their first concern was bringing water to the village. They developed a proposal to the foundation, to the government, to build a dam," Ms. Habib says. "And it wasn't just so they had access to the water for drinking. The reason they did this was so their children didn't have to walk miles and miles to collect water, but could instead go to school. That was something that definitely had me surprised about my ignorance, my assumptions."
If Ms. Habib's trip to Kenya brought her face-to-face with the very image of poverty, it also provided her with the opportunity to see just how events like the World Participation Walk can make people's lives better.
"I was very fortunate to go to Kenya, visit many of the projects there. I met with many people who had nothing but praise for what we have done. One villager was a chicken farmer. He benefited from the loans that funds raised through the walk help finance," Ms. Habib says. "The chicken farmer was on his sixth loan and he told me at one point he had no aspirations, no dreams for himself or his children. Now he not only had those dreams, but also had inspired a change in his whole neighbourhood where now his neighbours saw the same potential. What we are doing is re-instilling that hope. I think the most extreme poverty is found when individuals have lost all hope for themselves and for their children. So we are making a difference."
Afsana says that message of hope is clearly expressed in the approach taken by the Aga Khan Foundation Network.
"We have always been told the Aga Khan Foundation Network doesn't just give people money and say. 'Here, use it for what you need.' They actually use it to teach people how to get the resources they need," Afsana says. "So I found this a really good charity to help with because there is a saying if you give a man a fish he will eat for one day, but if you teach him to fish, he will eat everyday. So that is what I think about every year when I am raising money."
Want to know more?
The London edition of the World Partnership Walk is taking place on Sunday June 6, at Springbank Gardens. For more information visit www.worldpartnershipwalk.com.
"There was one moment a young girl came up to me asking for water, I was annoyed because I assumed she wanted money. That really hit me. She needed water, she was looking for a way to get water and I wasn't listening," Ms. Habib says. "So when I came back, I got more involved in the walk, started raising more funds for the walk, and volunteered at the walk. The following year I was invited to be a part of the core team and I was excited, I said yes, absolutely. So I learned a lot more about the walk and the projects it supports."
Organized by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, which is a part of the Aga Khan Development Network, the World Partnership Walk takes place in 10 cities across Canada, as well as communities around the world.
Years prior to her trip to Kenya, Ms. Habib says she learned a new appreciation for just how important events such as the World Partnership Walk can be.
"When I was six or seven, my parents took me to the walk and it was fun. Those are my initial memories. For me, I got more involved after a visit to Pakistan five years ago; I realized how fortunate I was. I think at first for me it was a fun event, but then it really started to take meaning for me," Ms. Habib says. "It taught me I am very fortunate, but it also taught me you can't assume what these people need. I looked at my cousins, some of the poor children that came up to me asking for money. That became the norm, that's the image we normally have when we think of poverty in these counties. But we don't realize these individuals have needs they can very well articulate and if we address those needs, we can make a bigger difference."
In the past few years, Ms. Habib says, the London event has really started to attract a larger audience.
"Last year we raised a little over $96,000. Over the past five years it has really picked up speed, so we are really looked forward to seeing what the walk will do this year and years to come. Londoners have responded in several ways, in terms of donations and support," Ms. Habib says. "Last year we had close to 600 people come out. When I came on board three years ago it was 300 people, so just in the past few years it has really started to grow."
Afsana Alladina, 15, a Grade 10 at Central Secondary School, has been a part of that growth.
Afsana, who has been participating in the walk since she was five years old, says from an early age she knew she had to do what she could to help those in need.
"I started collecting for the walk because I really wanted to help people who didn't have the same resources that we did. I just felt we should help those in need because we can't take for granted what we have. Even as a kid, I always just thought every one should help," Afsana says. "The partnership walk was always a very big thing in the community; my parents have always been involved. So I have just always been a part of it."
The awareness that Afsana has shown is something Ms. Habib has to be encouraged in everyone.
"There isn't enough awareness. Global poverty is a silent disaster we don't normally see in the headlines or on the news. So the World Partnership Walk is a way of raising that awareness. Just as important as raising funds, I believe raising awareness is just as important," Ms. Habib says. "During the walk we have an exhibit called the global village. It allows people to come into this mini exhibit, to walk through an interactive display, to see how the funds raised can help people in the developing world."
Funds raised by the walk, Ms. Habib says, help projects supported by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada in four key areas – health, education, rural development and strengthening community-based organizations.
"We can't say your funds will go to creating a school. There are no silver bullets when it comes to poverty," Ms. Habib says. "How can you have a school without qualified teachers or healthy children to go to schools? The funds raised target these four areas which in themselves support all four areas together."
Ms. Habib says one of the biggest problems faced in the fight against poverty in developing nations is the belief by some that they understand just what the problems are in the first place.
"You would think the community elders would be more concerned about having a school for the children. But I discovered their first concern was bringing water to the village. They developed a proposal to the foundation, to the government, to build a dam," Ms. Habib says. "And it wasn't just so they had access to the water for drinking. The reason they did this was so their children didn't have to walk miles and miles to collect water, but could instead go to school. That was something that definitely had me surprised about my ignorance, my assumptions."
If Ms. Habib's trip to Kenya brought her face-to-face with the very image of poverty, it also provided her with the opportunity to see just how events like the World Participation Walk can make people's lives better.
"I was very fortunate to go to Kenya, visit many of the projects there. I met with many people who had nothing but praise for what we have done. One villager was a chicken farmer. He benefited from the loans that funds raised through the walk help finance," Ms. Habib says. "The chicken farmer was on his sixth loan and he told me at one point he had no aspirations, no dreams for himself or his children. Now he not only had those dreams, but also had inspired a change in his whole neighbourhood where now his neighbours saw the same potential. What we are doing is re-instilling that hope. I think the most extreme poverty is found when individuals have lost all hope for themselves and for their children. So we are making a difference."
Afsana says that message of hope is clearly expressed in the approach taken by the Aga Khan Foundation Network.
"We have always been told the Aga Khan Foundation Network doesn't just give people money and say. 'Here, use it for what you need.' They actually use it to teach people how to get the resources they need," Afsana says. "So I found this a really good charity to help with because there is a saying if you give a man a fish he will eat for one day, but if you teach him to fish, he will eat everyday. So that is what I think about every year when I am raising money."
Want to know more?
The London edition of the World Partnership Walk is taking place on Sunday June 6, at Springbank Gardens. For more information visit www.worldpartnershipwalk.com.
إرسال تعليق
Thank you for your valuable comments and opinion. Please have your comment on this post below.