Rain didn’t stop about 55 people from showing up to the Save the Mothers Walk on May 13.
The five-kilometre trek around Central Park raised money for the charity, whose mission is to reduce the number of preventable infant and mother deaths in underdeveloped countries.
They do this by training local leaders to become change makers in their own communities, helping hospitals meet standards of care for safe childbirth, and doing community outreach, notes a press release.
Hellen Muuo of Kenya, who’s currently studying in Canada and has two children, attended the walk. She was privileged enough to have medical insurance to cover her hospital bills when she went into labour.
“The reason I participated in the walk is because I wanted to help support other women in Africa who can’t afford medical insurance. It was a great and worthy cause,” says Muuo in the release.
To date, more than $45,000 has been raised around the world for Save the Mothers. For more info, visit savethemothers.org.
World Refugee Day
Mark June 20 on your calendars – it’s World Refugee Day.
The Bob Prittie (Metrotown) library branch is inviting folks to drop in for a panel discussion from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Speakers will talk about international and local issues affecting refugees in Canada. Laya Behbahani, a sessional lecturer for SFU’s labour studies who researches human rights violations of migrants in the Middle East, will be chatting about the impact of the refugee crisis on human trafficking in the Gulf countries.
“I think we’re so conditioned towards thinking about whether or not we can handle the refugee crisis, how many people we can take, whether we have the resources,” says Behbahani. “That’s all good, and I agree with that completely because our resources are limited, however, we have to look at it from the perspective that if we don’t open our doors ... the alternative is that a lot of these kids are now being recruited by ISIS and are being offered, for example, amenities, food, shelter, clothing, and these are going to be the next generation of potential terrorists.”
Another panelist will be James Grunau, executive director of Journey Home Community, an association serving refugee claimant families.
Registration is required by calling 604-436-5400 or by visiting bpl.bc.ca/events. The library is at 6100 Willingdon Ave.
Drop in for coffee
Burnaby residents are invited to Burnaby Neighbourhood House’s coffee drop in, held every Monday and Friday from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
The gathering is at the new north location (4908 Hastings St.), which opened its doors in January. This is a great opportunity to have a cup of java and meet your neighbours, Neighbourhood House staff and volunteers.
For more info, call 604-294-5444.
