opened doors

I just want to thank everyone for continuing to read my blog, I think I have had more readers now, then when I was in Africa.

I feel so blessed for the doors that have opened for me since returning home, I have been asked to be a guest speaker at a Four Nations youth symposium with the theme being 'Education is our Buffalo" on August 14, 2012.

I am extremely honored, my Community would ask me to speak, throughout my educational journey, I never thought that I would be speaking to over 200 high school and post secondary students.

My focus now in the Samson Community is to encourage Volunteerism to be the Change you want to see in your own Communities.

Stay tuned from news articles from the Wetaskiwin News and a story featured in the Alberta Sweetgrass Newspaper. Yipee!

TEAM ZAMBIA!

The Real Zambia!

Trust me you want to watch this youtube clip! Directed by Courtenay Louie!

TEAM ZAMBIA! THREE AMIGOS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmuyVII5QFw&feature=player_embedded

Ponoka News!

Thanks Amelia at Ponoka News for writing such a great story on my internship! You rock!

http://www.ponokanews.com/community/163730226.html

Canada...Yay!

It's been a personal triump for me to get out of this little "slump" I was in after returning home to the mother land.

For awhile there, I was hesitant about opportunities, and afraid to talk about my internship, due to the fear of being misunderstood.

It is very complex to explain what I did in Zambia, in the operational areas and in the office in Lusaka.

I would love to publish my journals into a book to talk about the day to day, because sometimes a little detail in my day, was what impacted me more than the "big" things.

I can't tell all my journal entries on my blog, but I am thinking all my daily therapuetic writing I did while I was there, that I'd love to write a book.

I wrote four journals of daily experiences I had in Zambia. I was always writing, because I never wanted to forget this experience that has shaped the future of my life to come.

Please watch for the story in the Ponoka News paper about my internship!

GSC

Well I started the Global Solidarity Challenge today, Not as easy as it sounds, especially when I am sacraficing my morning coffees!

I have spent 0.99 Cents and it isnt even lunch time.

Morning breakfast- Egg Sandwhich (0.19 for one egg) and (0.25 for two pieces fo toast) My Coffee (0.23) was brewed in a pot and NOT bought  at Tim Hortons like usual. = $0.92

My morning snack, was a bannana and it was $0.07.

I need to do some better planning because my budget totaly for today is $0.99 and my budget is $1.25

Thanks to my mom and sister for donating $50.00 each for the cause. Global Solidarity here we come! If anyone is interested in donating, please email me :)
Xoxo
Ash

Mustard Seed

To my favorite lovelys.

First, Thank you for reading, especially now that I am home. So happy to see so many friendly faces and hearing everyone's encouraging words to keep exploring the globe and continuing to make a difference.

Secondly, I Absolutely fell in love with this blog. So happy to see people helping in our own back yard.

This blog is amazing! and I am very happy to share it all with you! next time you need an inspirational lift, read just one post. I promise it will make your day.

http://theseed-blog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Xoxo
Ash

Samson...Big Thank You!

Super Big Thank you to the Communications Team at the Samson Cree Nation Office. Thank you for profiling me in the Samson Newsletter!

I am so happy to be able to share my story with my home community!

http://www.samsoncree.com/news_files/July2012.pdf
http://www.samsoncree.com/news_files/July2012.pdf

Canada...Yay or Nay!

It’s been an emotional roller coaster since I have been home, I have been up and down and up and down again!

I was super sad to leave my family in Zambia, It was hard to say goodbyes, but I didn’t. I just said “See ya later” because I really hope to get the opportunity to travel back and see them sooner rather than later.

It’s been the most difficult in this internship to transition back into “home” I thought coming home would have been the best part. It’s been extremely tough. All my friends and family may not think I’ve changed because I am trying to play into the Ash that was before I left. But I am someone who has seen and experienced many things on my cultural exchange. How could I not be changed after an experience like this?

I found myself being slightly preachy about my sisters using so much water, or throwing out so much left overs.

I have had my world cracked open and I am at a loss for words when someone asks me “Hey how was Africa” Where Do I even begin? Do you want the good or the bad? Or from the start to finish? The middle?  I don’t know its been frustrating to look for words.

I know you wanted to read something happy about me behing home, dont get me wrong I am happy to see friends and family, I do feel weird. I am so attached to Zambia and I at the end I did not want to leave.

I’ve almost been home for two weeks, and the home I know was changed too, Leanne from the Inter cultural learning prepared us for this. So many things are different. I know things are going to improve with time. Time heals all wounds. I know I have these geeky quotes, but they keep me positive!

Some doors have closed on me in terms of personal relationships with friends and my boyfriend, but where doors have closed others have opened.

 I am leaving everything to the Creator and the Universe. The creator guided me to Zambia, and I know he will continue to guide me in my future endeavors. I am so excited for my future!

Global Solidarity Challenge

This internship has changed the course of life, there is no doubt about it. It has opened so many doors that I could not have imagined once I had started this internship. I will be forever grateful to Lynn, Lesley, and Rohan and all the VIDEA staff for always being an ear to listen to, they knew exactly what I was going through. They walked the steps In Zambia and were  and still are such an amazing support system.

I always thank the Creator for strength to complete the internship. The journey was not an easy one but it was absolutely necessary. I did so much healing while I was in Zambia. Zambia in a way saved me. It brought me closer to loved ones and I did so much self-reflecting. Being there, you feel one with nature and I’d love to tell you the words of how I felt, but there are no words to describe the level of happiness that Zambia and it’s beautiful culture and amazing people have brought to my life.

I know it’s cliché, but “Everything Happens for a Reason”

As a thank you to VIDEA for giving me this amazing opportunity of a life time, I would like to personally fundraise $500.00 for the Global Solidarity Challenge, where I will be creating awareness in my community about how 1.29 Billion people live on less than $1.25 a day.

I will be doing this for a week. I have created a budget and a breakdown of how I will use $1.25 for food, while still meeting my nutritional needs. To date I have raised $75.00. Thank you to my two supporters who have donated! Yay! It's crazy that so many people had no idea that so much of the worlds population was living on such low means, especially when you think of what $1.25 means to you, for me, I always have some coffees every day, usually costing anywhere from $1-5, Just on coffee!

 $425.00 to go! The funds from the Global Solidarity Challenge will towards VIDEA’s programming in the host countries. It helps towards setting up free trade agreements with women in marginalized communities as well as capacity building at the youth and adult levels. I personally have seen how the basket weavers from Senanga have benefitted so much for Women for Change and VIDEA. Please consider donating &10.00. I’ll be collecting donations for the next two weeks. J Please feel free to visit the website! Zikomo Quambelli

My own personal link is

http://solidarity.videa.ca/videaday/participantpage.asp?fundid=1719&uid=3081

The Website:

www.solidarity.videa.ca

NGOCC Womens Constituional Conference

Currently in Zambia, there Constitution is the same one that was forced upon them during the times of colonization and is extremely patriarchal in nature and neglects the five basic human rights for Women and Children.

Zambia’s newly elected President, Sata had promised the people of Zambia a new Constitution that would “stand the test of time” if he was elected. The people voted, and they wanted a new constitution.

The government of Zambia had drafted the first Constitution that addressed most of the rights for women and children, which was incredible. This event does not happen all the time, so I was extremely blessed to have taken part in this incredible transition time for the Women and Children of Zambia.

During my last few days in Lusaka, I was invited to participate in Zambia’s 2nd Annual Constitution Conference.  It was a place where over a thousand from all over Zambia would mobilize and travel to Lusaka for the Conference.

The conference was a safe place for Women to unite their voices for a common voice and stance. The government had made accusations that the women did not know what they wanted and women were on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of issues like reproductive health and if abortions should be legal, this was a touchy one for most women, but it needed to be talked about.

Zambia prides itself on being a “Christian Nation” and from my understanding “life starts at conception”

When I was in Lusaka, I had heard of girls drinking crushed up coke bottles to abort fetuses, and drinking laundry detergent, or to poke a stick up inside, and if they seen blood, that means it was done. The lasting health effects on the girls could have been prevented if they had access to appropriate medical care and the stigma behind abortions was not heavily prevalent.

For whatever reason for Women to Abort was no one’s business, but Zambia was fighting for the rights for Women to be able to have the right to choose and be able to make decisions on their own body. The purpose of the conference was for women to discuss all aspects of these issues and to be educated and hear all points of view.

In Zambia for Women to have a legal abortion, they must get approval from three doctors, to get the ok. Let’s get real here. In the rural areas, the distance women have to travel to see one doctor is absolutely ridiculous, let alone finding three doctors to get approval, and most doctors are male.

Someone else decides your fate, and in most cases it’s a male. This just seems sad to me because gender based violence and the high rates of defilement have been increasing in Zambia and will continue to be on the rise If the constitution does not allow equality between men and women.

This blog post isn’t about trying to make Abortions legal or illegal. It’s about showing you how women do not have control of their own bodies in so many places of the world and how this new constitution will change lives for the Women and children of Zambia.

I just had so much respect for the women of Zambia for even talking about these issues and even for sharing their personal stories with me. These stories, I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.