Published by Senator Mobina Jaffer on 07 October 2010
On Sunday September 26th I had the privilege of attending the Ismaili Walk for Women. This was the 19th year of the walk and the third year of a successful three-year partnership between the Ismaili Muslim Community of British Columbia and the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre Foundation. Together these two organizations set out to raise funds for the Women’s Health Research Institute which in turn assists them in their endeavour to advance knowledge and care for women, newborns and their families across British Columbia and around the world.
Throughout the summer I have attended several charitable events, all of which were extremely successful. However, after attending the Ismaili Walk for Women it quickly became clear to me that this event was about much more than raising awareness and money for women’s health research. This walk was about sisterhood, empowerment and giving a voice to women.
During the walk we had the opportunity to hear from Samira Alibhai, President of the Ismaili Council for British Columbia, who stated:
“This walk is part of our tradition of service, giving back, helping those in need and helping improve the overall quality of life in the society in which we live by making a meaningful contribution to our local community.”
We also had the opportunity to hear from Sarah Morgan-Silvester, Chair of the BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre Foundation, who went out to state:
“The partnership between the Ismaili Muslim community and the BC Women’s foundation has been an inspiring example of community leadership.”
My hat goes off to both organizations for doing such a spectacular job organizing the walk as they inspired all of those who participated in a very special way.
Although this walk was indeed a great success I think that it is extremely important that we recognize that this is one step towards the greater goal of raising awareness about women’s health issues, both nationally and internationally. I urge you all to get involved in your communities and help bring these issues to the forefront.
