November-17-08
Announcing the winners of the Jacques Hébert Global Citizenship Awards!
Sarah Switzer, of Comox, British Columbia, and Saaya Tema Karmushu, of Nanyuki, Kenya, are the winners of the first Jacques Hébert Global Citizenship Awards. Sarah participated in the 2003-2004 Ontario/Tanzania program, and Saaya Tema participated in both the 2004-2005 Tanzania program and the 2005-2006 Kenya/Ontario program.
The project of Sarah Switzer was inspired by her observation that communities in Tanzania wished to create peaceful environments where students and their families could read books but lacked the resources and infrastructure to make that happen.
Sarah's project aimed to facilitate life-long learning in these small communities, encourage the participation of all community members in the project, and promote the economic and social development of the Tanga Region. Moreover, since the libraries offer books published in East Africa, this project is based on the community's own cultural values and makes education more relevant and accessible.
Ilngwesi Afya, the project launched by Saaya Tema, enables community members to work together to control the spread of HIV\AIDs. It facilitated the implementation of a plan focused on prevention, medical testing, and follow-up care. Two hundred people were then trained to run a prevention campaign throughout the countryside. Finally, the project established local support systems for people and families living with HIV.
This project targets the members of Ilngwesi- a Maasai group living in Laikipia - but it will also be implemented in other Kenyan communities.
On December 8, during a commemorative event marking the first anniversary of Mr. Hébert's death, the winners will receive their awards and participate in a panel discussion lead by Pascale Fournier, a past participant and member of CWY's board of directors.
The Jacques Hébert Global Citizenship Awards
The Jacques Hébert Global Citizenship Award was created to honour Jacques Hébert (1923-2007) who, inspired by his profound commitment to young people and to greater intercultural understanding, founded Canada World Youth in 1971.
The award recognizes the achievements of Canada World Youth past participants, from Canada and around the world, who are working to implement innovative community projects promoting three major aspects of global citizenship: peace, tolerance, and intercultural understanding.
Each year, two cash prizes of CDN$3,000 each will be awarded to one Canadian and one resident of a CWY partner country. To be eligible, the candidates must have participated in a Canada World Youth program, be thirty or under, and play a key role in an innovative project within their community.
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