ROTARY BUILDS PEACE
- The Webmaster
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Rotary believes that when concerned citizens work together to create peace locally, we can create lasting change globally
On March 7th we took part in York’s International Women’s Week by turning our attention to the effects of war on Women and Children. Ever desirous of adding new approaches to developing our Rotarian commitment to world peace and to our local community, we decided to shine a light on the ways in which women have coped with being forced to abandon their homes and their way of life and to resettle in unfamiliar surroundings. Our event was entitled ‘Women’s Journeys from War to Peace’ and the morning started with Shamin Eimaan, Director of Eimaan Culture & Community Services, relating her childhood experience of being evicted from Uganda in the 1970s and coming to live, first in Birmingham and later here in York. We then heard how human rights defenders, Farah Abou El Sel from Lebanon and Nour Khalifa from Libya endeavour, amidst great personal danger, to provide support for innocent families caught up in conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. Rotarian Isabelle McKay-Smith, UNICEF Partnerships Specialist, gave a brief but powerful picture of the extreme difficulties faced by members of her organisation in trying to help mothers and children amid falling bombs, death and destruction. And we ended the morning with four women from Refugee Action York talking about their experiences in our city, their fears, their losses and their aspirations. All of the morning’s interventions were ably and professionally conducted by our Honorary Rotarian, Elly Fiorentini.
Lunch was served by the not-for-profit social enterprise Yahala Mataam. Over lunch, the one hundred or so participants in the event were able to connect with each other, to ponder and discuss what they had heard during the morning. Many of them have reported back to us on how they had felt moved by what they had heard and how they had sensed solidarity with each other and with the speakers.
Following lunch, the afternoon was lighter in touch with three vocal performances, introduced, again, by our own Elly, turned compère. Marwa Karoui, originally from Tunisia, sang three unaccompanied, lyrical pieces and was followed by Yeseniia Honcharova, whose equally beautiful, youthful voice rang out around the hall raising many a tear, and many goose pimples.
The performances were completed by several rousing choruses delivered by the York Ukraine choir. Uplifting and inspirational, this delightful choral singing hit, perfectly, the right emotional spot to round off the day’s theme.
‘Women’s Journey from War to Peace’ was the brainchild of Diana Naish, who conceived of the whole event, who was instrumental in organising speakers and lunch provision, and who headed up a committee of York Rotary International Team members, joined by Honorary York Rotarian Elly Fiorentini and by Sayed Hashmi from Refugee Action York. Through the generosity of a handful of private and corporate donors, we were able to hold a magnificent raffle: the proceeds, added to a surplus from event ticket sales, meant that nearly £1,300.00 was raised to benefit both UNICEF and RAY.
Paul Roberts, York Rotary President
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