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The second way in which the dynamic functions is arguably more significant, on both a
personal and public level. In this case, the individual finds that he or she, because of
background, has special skills that can be used to enrich the lives of others. One touching
example of this occurred in the spring of 2005, when Alberta played host to a special group
of young visitors. These children had been among the students, parents and teachers taken
hostage on 1 September 2004 at a school in the town of Beslan, Russia. At the end of the
standoff, a large number of the hostages were murdered. Each of the students who visited
Canada had lost a family member during the hostage-taking and the trip was meant to bring
some fun back into their lives to help in the healing process. They were hosted by
Russian-Canadians who were able to use their language skills and cultural knowledge to
help the children feel more at home. In this instance, the background of the Russian-Canadians
was an advantage that enabled them to make a special contribution on behalf of all of
Alberta.
Volunteerism is empowering both for recipients and volunteers. In a culturally diverse setting, it gives
its beneficiaries assistance in overcoming obstacles to the pursuit of prosperity and happiness in the province,
while it also gives the volunteers themselves an opportunity to proactively shape the society in which they live.
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Cross-Cultural Charity: Ismaili Muslim Education
Programs in Edmonton
RUNNING TIME: 0:48 minutes |
Ismaili Muslims experience volunteering as a religious
requirement and therefore it is a part of daily living. As a
community, every Ismaili Muslim is involved in volunteering.
- from The Changing World of Volunteer Management: A
Practical Guide to Cultural Diversity in Management
In 1997, the Ismaili Council for Edmonton organized a Summer
Mini-School for the children of Ismaili Muslim refugees from
Afghanistan. The aim of the volunteer program was to tutor the
children in English and Mathematics to help them keep pace with
the learning environment of their regular schools.
The Summer School program proved so successful that the
decision was made to organize two extracurricular school help
programs throughout the school year: the Winter Mini- School,
and the Learning Centres. Like its summer counterpart, the
Winter Mini-School offers extra tutoring to the children of
recently arrived Ismaili Muslim immigrants. The Learning Centres
were set up to provide additional educational support for the
children.
Neither of these programs would exist without the support of
the volunteer teachers who donate their time and knowledge to
help the children adjust to a new life in Canada.
This video clip is an exceprt from the short documentary
"learning...by heart", by Aleem Karmali. In this clip, Amin
Poonja, the Chairman for the Aga Khan Education Board for
Edmonton, and Khatoon Murji, Coordinator for the Winter
Mini-School, discuss how the volunteers for the Ismaili
education programs come from a diverse range of cultural,
religious, ethnic, age, and professional backgrounds - a true
example of cross-cultural volunteer cooperation.
Read |
Watch
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