Lambton College students visit Haiti

Every year, Ruth Geurts leads two groups of Lambton College students to Haiti. Nursing students and students enrolled in the International Community Development course visit Haiti for two different purposes--the first to listen and learn, the second to serve. 

If you'd like to learn more about what happens in Haiti--how the students prepare, what they do while they're there, what they take away with them--please consider joining us on Monday, June 8. We'll hear from students about their experiences, and we'll have the chance to ask questions. We will meet in L208 at 10:30 am. 

Feel free to email me (erica.kelly@lambtoncollege.ca) if you'd like to know more!

Dignity for All: Upcoming Anti-Poverty Workshop

This past February, a group called Dignity for All released an anti-poverty plan for Canada. (Our Advisory Committee member Kelly Chappell Finch wrote a helpful blog post about the plan, which you can read here. Kelly’s post also includes a link to the pdf of the full report.)

Now we have a chance to learn more about the report and to discuss its implications for Sarnia. On Thursday, May 28, from 9-11, the local Poverty Reduction Network will be hosting a workshop at Living Hope Christian Reformed Church, located at 1281 Exmouth Street in Sarnia. Anyone who would like to learn more about poverty, both locally and nationally, is invited to attend. Participants in the workshop will become part of the discussion about the causes of poverty and the structural changes necessary to equality for all.

Attendance is free.

You may have read last month’s article in The Observer about the workshop.

If you’d like more information about the workshop, please leave a note in the comments section or email me directly: erica.kelly@lambtoncollege.ca

We're in the news!

Last week, the Sarnia Journal profiled our college's new student-led social justice club, Vocalize.

Kari Roos, Erica Kelly, and Katie Horvath pose for a picture.

You can read the full story here. Thanks to Susan Roberts at the Sarnia Journal for her interest in what we've been up to!

Sarnia Justice Film Festival: Last film of the season!

This Saturday (April 25), the Sarnia Justice Film Festival will screen Divide in Concord: A Tale of Banning Bottled Water. The film will be shown upstairs at the Sarnia Library at 7 pm. All are welcome, and there is no charge to attend.

Jean Hill, who leads the fight against bottled water in her town.
(photo credit to The Toronto Film Scene)

Divide in Concord follows the story of Jean Hill, an 84-year-old woman working to ban the sale of bottled water in Concord, Massachusetts. 

After the film, attendees will be invited to participate in a dialogue about the state of Canadian water, and experts will be on hand to answer questions. 

You can read more about the film and the debate it's generated here: http://divideinconcord.com/

For more information about the Justice Film Festival, email justicefilm@sympatico.ca or visit

www.facebook.com/SarniaJusticeFilmFestival.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

On Saturday, April 11, stop by the Lambton Mall at noon to show your support for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, an annual event that encourages people to speak out against sexual assault and gender violence. 

Men from the community will put on high heels and walk a mile through the mall to raise awareness. At the same time, they'll be raising funds to help support the essential support offered by the Women's Interval Home and the Sexual Assault Survivors' Centre in our community.

If you'd like to volunteer or participate, email walkamilesarnia@hotmail.com.

And if you can't be there tomorrow, consider telling others about the event anyway. Speaking out against domestic violence will help to end it.

Jayu's #Street Photography Project

I’m looking forward to the presentation from Jayu today—like the members of this organization, I’ve always believed that art can be the genesis of powerful social change.

I’ve just been reading about Jayu’s new project for this spring, called the Street Photography Project. The organization is pairing homeless youth in Toronto with talented local photographers, providing them with cameras, and encouraging them to tell their stories through photographs.

At the end of the spring, the resulting photographs will be shared at local galleries, and all proceeds from sales will be returned to the young photographers.

This is a simple but powerful idea, and Jayu hopes that the resulting images will change lives—not just of the photographers involved, but also of viewers. Part of the goal is to “smash negative stigma and stereotypes about homeless youth.”

Please join us today in K203 at 1:30 to hear more about this and other Jayu initiatives. Visit their website to learn more: http://www.jayu.ca

Jayu, Art, and Human Rights

The people behind Jayu believe that art can make a difference in the fight for human rights. Their hope is "to be the catalyst for change and envision a world of globally minded and informed individuals who support human rights."

Please join us this Wednesday, from 1:30-2:30 in K203, to learn more about Jayu's mission. Gilad Cohen, the founder of Jayu, will lead the conversation. Here’s the link to the Jayu website if you’d like to learn more:  http://www.jayu.ca

The hour has been organized by Wade Fleming, the Intercultural Awareness Award organizer at Lambton College. The hour will be a chance to learn more about Jayu (which Wade tells me is a Korean word that means “freedom”) and to join the conversation about the intersection between art and human rights. 

I hope to see you there!