My Story
Almost five years ago I completed an interdisciplinary bachelors degree in International and Comparative Studies at Huron University College located in London, Ontario. My area of focus was marginalized communities primarily in Latin America. Initially my studies focused on the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and Nicaragua as this group of people have been severely affected from the after affects of civil wars, international development projects, poverty, and are horribly discriminated against through prejudicial subjugation.
After spending a summer living in Choluteca, Honduras and working with developmentally disabled individuals my focus shifted. I discovered that within third world countries those who are not able to contribute to the system of capitalism are deemed useless, or of no use in a struggling economy that is trying to make its‘ mark on the international playing filed. The organization I worked for is called L’Arche (http://www.larche.org/home.en-gb.1.0.index.htm), which bases its identity and mission through an understanding of mutuality practised through community. In essence L’Arche is a group of homes for physically disabled individuals. These individuals, or “core members” are cared for by live-in assistants, choosing to live life through ‘community’.
After L’Arche my whole world changed, in many ways, and for many reasons. Overall I found something I very much connected to, believed in, and stood behind. Upon returning to Canada and completing my studies, I continued working and volunteering with L’Arche in London, Ontario. All the while I had very much taken to heart the meaning of community that L’Arche spouted and was attempting to make such an idea a reality through an “intentional community” with some of my friends and fellow scholastic colleagues. More or less there were a group of us sharing one home, in a neighbourhood community, practising specific values of environmental sustainability, international solidarity, and by living simplistically.
By the end of my undergrad I had worked with developmentally disabled adults and children, both nationally and internationally, travelled to several third world countries to learn about civil wars, human rights abuses, and international development projects, studied the marginalization of targeted groups of peoples including indigenous populations, and low-income families. I had also volunteered for a refugee sponsorship program, hosted, and spoke at, multiple events regarding international development, and mining issues. All the while living in an “intentional” community and trying to uphold some of the values that I had seen, heard, and learned of over the past years. I did a lot. Then I graduated!
After I graduated I did what every person with an undergraduate degree does; make money to pay off student debts. This meant going tree planting. I planted for the summer of 2007 and continued working with L’Arche for nine months. This time on Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley community before moving to Vancouver to look for a job with an NGO and use the knowledge from my undergraduate degree. But things did not go the way I had planned. I did not end up getting a job “in my field”. I kept care-giving, this time working for a private company called Spectrum Society for Community Living (http://www.spectrumfriends.ca/), which supported adults with developmental disabilities in their own homes, as opposed to a group home. In addition to this I also walked dogs and enjoyed the beauty and splendour of British Colombia’s parks and forests. A treat indeed for someone from the province of Ontario.
After a couple of years living in Vancouver I felt called to live in the Albertan Rocky Mountains. A small town, one hour West of Calgary, called Canmore. Canmore was a treat indeed. Despite not being situated in a centre of socio economic issues, that Vancouver provided, I was in the centre of alpine beauty and grandeur. It soothed my soul and gave me the cooling off I needed after living in the fast-paced big city.
I lived in Canmore for about a year’s time before recognizing that it is incredibly expensive to live in such a touristy place. Supporting myself by two jobs I decided to go back tree planting. Referred by a friend this time I chose a different company to work for, Little Smokey Forestry Services (http://littlesmokey.ca/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/). Based out of the Grande Prairie area Little Smokey is a fantastic company, with unique planting contracts in both the oil sector in the tar sands of Alberta, and with a carbon farmer who offsets carbon emissions by planting trees (http://www.thecarbonfarmer.ca/).
Now, after my second season with Little Smokey, third season overall, I had the finances to escape the Canadian the winter and travel. This brings us to today where I am sitting in New Delhi, India writing about my life and what has brought me here. My first goal while travelling around India was to write; a creative pursuit I do not give myself the luxury of in Canada. India has given me much inspiration and motivation to put words to paper and share all of the amazing things I am seeing and experiencing with my friends and family. Over the course of this process I had a brilliant idea; to write specifically about the ways in which social justice is still relevant and active in my life. Since my undergrad degree, as mentioned, I have had many different types of work, different jobs, different opportunities and experiences. None of which, I felt, were directly related to social justice, or supported the topics I studied and deeply cared about. For example I thought that I would land a job “in my field” working for an NGO; aiding a grassroots project, and ultimately helping the people I had studied about. But this wasn’t the case. I felt very let down, by myself, for not pushing through, trying harder, and landing this dream job within the field of social justice. However I have come to this reality; there is no dream job within social justice because it is not the dream we are aiming for. The injustice, atrocities, inequalities, and basic human suffering that exists will never be a dream; it is a nightmare. Rather what I want to strive for is social justice as a daily practice. It is daily work to be conscious, aware, thoughtful and considerate of all peoples in this world. It is the efforts we can contribute in the everyday that make the difference, and to change the nightmare into something a little more liveable. Daily practise allows us to be “the change we wish to see in the world”. I think that is the most important and effective form of social justice.
This blog is a means of sharing my experiences of social justice. Through travel, opportunities, different organizations, or peoples I have encountered I want to showcase how I am able to practice social justice in daily life and how it is always possible to live a live of social awareness. More so this blog is dedicated to a dear friend of mine, whom we lost over three years ago. She was the epitome of someone who practiced social justice in her everyday life; whether at home, at work, or in her neighborhood community. She constantly inspires and motivates me to be the best person I can be and to live a life that is meaningful, thoughtful, and true to our humanity. I love you dear Lotus Blossom. May your spirit forever live on.
Almost five years ago I completed an interdisciplinary bachelors degree in International and Comparative Studies at Huron University College located in London, Ontario. My area of focus was marginalized communities primarily in Latin America. Initially my studies focused on the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and Nicaragua as this group of people have been severely affected from the after affects of civil wars, international development projects, poverty, and are horribly discriminated against through prejudicial subjugation.
After spending a summer living in Choluteca, Honduras and working with developmentally disabled individuals my focus shifted. I discovered that within third world countries those who are not able to contribute to the system of capitalism are deemed useless, or of no use in a struggling economy that is trying to make its‘ mark on the international playing filed. The organization I worked for is called L’Arche (http://www.larche.org/home.en-gb.1.0.index.htm), which bases its identity and mission through an understanding of mutuality practised through community. In essence L’Arche is a group of homes for physically disabled individuals. These individuals, or “core members” are cared for by live-in assistants, choosing to live life through ‘community’.
After L’Arche my whole world changed, in many ways, and for many reasons. Overall I found something I very much connected to, believed in, and stood behind. Upon returning to Canada and completing my studies, I continued working and volunteering with L’Arche in London, Ontario. All the while I had very much taken to heart the meaning of community that L’Arche spouted and was attempting to make such an idea a reality through an “intentional community” with some of my friends and fellow scholastic colleagues. More or less there were a group of us sharing one home, in a neighbourhood community, practising specific values of environmental sustainability, international solidarity, and by living simplistically.
By the end of my undergrad I had worked with developmentally disabled adults and children, both nationally and internationally, travelled to several third world countries to learn about civil wars, human rights abuses, and international development projects, studied the marginalization of targeted groups of peoples including indigenous populations, and low-income families. I had also volunteered for a refugee sponsorship program, hosted, and spoke at, multiple events regarding international development, and mining issues. All the while living in an “intentional” community and trying to uphold some of the values that I had seen, heard, and learned of over the past years. I did a lot. Then I graduated!
After I graduated I did what every person with an undergraduate degree does; make money to pay off student debts. This meant going tree planting. I planted for the summer of 2007 and continued working with L’Arche for nine months. This time on Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley community before moving to Vancouver to look for a job with an NGO and use the knowledge from my undergraduate degree. But things did not go the way I had planned. I did not end up getting a job “in my field”. I kept care-giving, this time working for a private company called Spectrum Society for Community Living (http://www.spectrumfriends.ca/), which supported adults with developmental disabilities in their own homes, as opposed to a group home. In addition to this I also walked dogs and enjoyed the beauty and splendour of British Colombia’s parks and forests. A treat indeed for someone from the province of Ontario.
After a couple of years living in Vancouver I felt called to live in the Albertan Rocky Mountains. A small town, one hour West of Calgary, called Canmore. Canmore was a treat indeed. Despite not being situated in a centre of socio economic issues, that Vancouver provided, I was in the centre of alpine beauty and grandeur. It soothed my soul and gave me the cooling off I needed after living in the fast-paced big city.
I lived in Canmore for about a year’s time before recognizing that it is incredibly expensive to live in such a touristy place. Supporting myself by two jobs I decided to go back tree planting. Referred by a friend this time I chose a different company to work for, Little Smokey Forestry Services (http://littlesmokey.ca/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/). Based out of the Grande Prairie area Little Smokey is a fantastic company, with unique planting contracts in both the oil sector in the tar sands of Alberta, and with a carbon farmer who offsets carbon emissions by planting trees (http://www.thecarbonfarmer.ca/).
Now, after my second season with Little Smokey, third season overall, I had the finances to escape the Canadian the winter and travel. This brings us to today where I am sitting in New Delhi, India writing about my life and what has brought me here. My first goal while travelling around India was to write; a creative pursuit I do not give myself the luxury of in Canada. India has given me much inspiration and motivation to put words to paper and share all of the amazing things I am seeing and experiencing with my friends and family. Over the course of this process I had a brilliant idea; to write specifically about the ways in which social justice is still relevant and active in my life. Since my undergrad degree, as mentioned, I have had many different types of work, different jobs, different opportunities and experiences. None of which, I felt, were directly related to social justice, or supported the topics I studied and deeply cared about. For example I thought that I would land a job “in my field” working for an NGO; aiding a grassroots project, and ultimately helping the people I had studied about. But this wasn’t the case. I felt very let down, by myself, for not pushing through, trying harder, and landing this dream job within the field of social justice. However I have come to this reality; there is no dream job within social justice because it is not the dream we are aiming for. The injustice, atrocities, inequalities, and basic human suffering that exists will never be a dream; it is a nightmare. Rather what I want to strive for is social justice as a daily practice. It is daily work to be conscious, aware, thoughtful and considerate of all peoples in this world. It is the efforts we can contribute in the everyday that make the difference, and to change the nightmare into something a little more liveable. Daily practise allows us to be “the change we wish to see in the world”. I think that is the most important and effective form of social justice.
This blog is a means of sharing my experiences of social justice. Through travel, opportunities, different organizations, or peoples I have encountered I want to showcase how I am able to practice social justice in daily life and how it is always possible to live a live of social awareness. More so this blog is dedicated to a dear friend of mine, whom we lost over three years ago. She was the epitome of someone who practiced social justice in her everyday life; whether at home, at work, or in her neighborhood community. She constantly inspires and motivates me to be the best person I can be and to live a life that is meaningful, thoughtful, and true to our humanity. I love you dear Lotus Blossom. May your spirit forever live on.
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