Meet the Peace Medal Recipients!

The recipients of the 2012 YMCA Peace Medals for the Winnipeg Association were awarded at the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg's Annual General Meeting on February 5th.  Congratulations to Taylor Daigneault and Muuxi Adam for being selected as the 2012 Peace Medal recipients!

YOUTH PEACE MEDAL

Taylor is congratulated at the AGM by Board Chair Jon
Woolley and CEO Kent Patterson.

Taylor Daigneault is a passionate young individual in Grade 12. Taylor is a co-president of the Student Body, and an instrumental leader in a student-led initiative Students Promoting Unity at Murdoch MacKay. With Taylor’s help Students Promoting Unity began spreading awareness of United Nations Observance Day. His passion for peace and unity enabled him to lead school wide assemblies and smaller student body focus groups on a variety issues and observances ranging from the International Day of the Girl Child to National Bullying Awareness Week.

Taylor truly takes to heart his duties to listen without bias or prejudice to all his peers and brings forward their ideas to the council. As part of their work they took part in Me to We, raising over $3000 for Kenya and 2000 pounds of food for Winnipeg Harvest. Taylor’s qualities as a global citizen are well shown by his act to place calls to a variety organizations and donors, not to solicit for funds, rather simply thank those who had helped. Taylor’s facilitating skills have left other students and his peers to believe that they have a voice and they are being heard.

Kim Dudek form Murdoch MacKay says “Taylor’s work with Habitat for Humanity has long term impact in that to say “thank you” may be regarded as merely good manners; indeed, with sincere gratitude, it is the practice of building lasting, healthy relationships.”

Taylor is a strong, compassionate young individual, well-deserving of the YMCA Youth Peace Medal Award!

ADULT PEACE MEDAL

Muxxi speaks to the crowd at the
YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg's AGM.

The recipient of the Adult Peace Medal is Muuxi Adam.  Muuxi is a young former Somali refugee who escaped from the civil war, moving to Winnipeg in 2004. He is currently working as the After School Program Coordinator at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba Inc (IRCOM). Muuxi is a leader for his compassion for youth and his initiatives for community development in Winnipeg and surrounding areas. 

Muuxi's commitment to diversity, multiculturalism and inclusiveness began with his visits to Somalia and Kenya to be united with family and friends. Upon his return he felt that it was his moral obligation to respond to humanitarian and development needs of communities in the Southern part of war-torn Somalia and the marginalized communities of Northern Kenya. Muuxi co-founded Humankind International to serve the needs of the communities in Northern Kenya and Southern Somalia with the support of his African-born Canadian friends. Humankind International strives to use new approaches to developing and empowering these communities to achieve their goals. Their project included construction, equipping and staffing of an Early Childhood Centre in Dadaab Refugee Camp to admit 120 students who will take two years of early education until they are able to enroll in primary schools.

In order to help fundraise for the cause, and to promote understanding of peace and human rights, Muuxi has collaborated with schools in Winnipeg. His success with Humankind International was celebrated with an event hosted by the Winnipeg International Story Telling Festival.  Muuxi's story will also be featured in The Lucky Ones: African Refugees' Stories of Extraordinary Courage by Anne Mahon, set for release this spring.

St. John Brebeuf School’s Margaret Lafreniere summarizes Muuxi's impact in the community. “Muuxi Adam, founder of Humankind International, has helped us open our eyes to a world totally unlike the one that we have grown up in in North America. His personal story of enduring war and separation from family and of his dramatic move to Canada where he is making his dreams come true totally captivates and motivates us. His example of resiliency and compassion has set the bar high for us and we are determined to help him build a school in Dadaab."

Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 2012 YMCA Peace Medal and a special thank you to all of the nominators for sharing these stories with us!

What we do | Winnipeg Y International

INTERNATIONAL WORKING GROUP on Prezi

Learn more about how the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg supports international development and Ys across around the world.

OUR COMMUNITY IS GLOBAL!

Peace Week 2012!

Peace Week 2012 is under way.  We hope you will JOIN THE PEACE MOVEMENT and join us for a Creative Compromise workshop or Yoga For Peace drop-in class!

Creative Compromise

Join us for this engaging workshop to help you manage everyday conflict, led by Breanna Sawatzky.

Creative Compromise will be offered on two different evenings as part of YMCA Peace Week.

North Y Youth Centre363 McGregor Street
November 21st | 5:30 pm

South Branch
5 Fermor Avenue
November 22nd | 5:30

In this thought provoking workshop, participants:
- Identify stressful conflict situations,
- Explore four conflict prevention skills,
- Discover and practice constructive approaches for managing conflict

About Breanna Sawatzky
Breanna has a degree in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg and 7 years experience in counselling and workshop facilitation. She is currently the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg's Director of Mental Health Services and a voluntary member of their International Working Group. Breanna looks forward to YMCA Peace Week every year and strongly believes that peace begins at home.

Yoga for Peace

Yoga is an innately peaceful activity as the goal is to encompass the overall essence of peace. Yoga also fits well with the mission of the YMCA in Canada, as it incorporates spirit, mind and body into each class. Take part in one of these drop-in Yoga for Peace classes! 

EK Branch | November 18 | 6:45pm 

EK Branch | November 23 | 9:15 am 

West Portage Branch| November 22 | 10:00 am

Peace Medal
The call for Peace Medal nominees closes on December 3rd - make a nomination today!

Join the peace movement!

November is here and with it comes a busy month for the International Working Group! 

First up is our partnership day with Ten Thousand Villages on November 10th. Visit the location on Henderson Highway or Plaza Drive on Saturday and use this coupon - 15% of your purchase will be donated to our International Partnerships. We hope to see you there! 

Peace Week runs from November 17-24th. The 2012 theme is JOIN THE PEACE MOVEMENT! We hope you will like the YMCA Peace Week page on Facebook and follow the hashtag #YMCApeaceweek on Twitter to see what is taking place from coast to coast!

We have several special events planned here in Winnipeg – two Creative Compromise workshops and three Yoga for Peace sessions.

CREATIVE COMPROMISE

Join us for this engaging workshop to help you manage everyday conflict, led by Breanna Sawatzky.

Creative Compromise is a free workshop and will be offered on two different evenings as part of YMCA Peace Week.

North Y Youth Centre 363 McGregor Street
November 21st | 5:30 pm

South Branch
5 Fermor Avenue
November 22nd | 5:30

In this thought provoking workshop, participants:
- Identify stressful conflict situations,
- Explore four conflict prevention skills,
- Discover and practice constructive approaches for managing conflict

About Breanna Sawatzky
Breanna has a degree in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg and 7 years of experience in counselling and workshop facilitation. She is currently the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg's Director of Mental Health Services and a voluntary member of their International Working Group. Breanna looks forward to YMCA Peace Week every year and strongly believes that peace begins at home.



YOGA FOR PEACE

Yoga is an innately peaceful activity as the goal is to encompass the overall essence of peace. Yoga also fits well with the mission of the YMCA in Canada, as it incorporates spirit, mind and body into each class. Take part in one of these drop-in Yoga for Peace classes!

EK Branch | November 18 | 6:45pm

EK Branch | November 23 | 9:15 am

West Portage Branch| November 22 | 10:00 am



Finally, our call for Peace Medal nominations in heating up, with the deadline of December 3rd approaching quickly! 2012 is the 25th anniversary of the Peace Medallion in Canada. The YMCA Peace Medallion offers a reminder that it is possible to build a more peaceful world, one step at a time, and that everyone can be engaged in these efforts.


As a community, we all play a role in building peaceful communities. By celebrating people who share the Y’s values and are engaged in similar peace-building work, we shine a light on their very important efforts. Make a nomination for the Peace Medal today!

Ten Thousand Villages Day!

Join us on November 10th at Ten Thousand Villages.  You can donate 15% of your purchase to our International Partnerships by using this coupon. We'll have volunteers at both the Plaza Drive and Henderson locations. For more information, please contact the International Working Group at info@ymcaywca.mb.ca or 204.831.2975.

Learn more about this event and invite your friends on Facebook!

Update on CASA

The YMCA of Mexico has hosted a Casa for migrant youth in Juarez since 1995, providing a safe and healthy shelter where migrant children receive food, clothing and access to telecommunications, and then reunite them with their families.  In 2011 a new Casa Canada building was opened with the support of the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, YMCAs and YMCA-YWCAs across the prairies, and the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph - a true partnership effort!

Juarez is a city of 1.5 million people, located about mid-continent, on the banks of the Rio Grande, the border between Mexico and the United States.  There are also YMCA Casas in Tijuana, Piedras Negras, and Agua Prieta.

Casa Canada has played an important role in the community, assisting migrant youth, providing space for conferences, delivering adult education, providing recreational painting programs, programming for the elderly, hosting festivals and, that YMCA staple, summer camps.

Conferences have focused on Family workshops, youth participation in the community, prevention and identification of addictions, and Human & Children Rights training.  Ciudad Juarez has been the site of a high level of drug cartel violence in recent years, and the community is in need of support to rebuild and restore confidence and trust.

On weekends the Casa delivers a 4 month secondary school diploma to adults, in conjunction with the Chihuahuan Institute of Adult Education.  The Art School of Ciudad Juarez has provided volunteer-led Art programs for youth, an opportunity that is not readily available in local area.

The Casa has hosted Children’s Day and mother’s Day festivals, to engage and build trust in the community, and provides those very popular indoor summer camp opportunities for youth.

While political and economic changes have reduced the number of migrant youth, the Casa continues to provide community building and enrichment services, benefitting hundreds of youth, adults and seniors, who live and come to Ciudad Juarez.

Read more about the Casa programs on the YMCA of Mexico's website.

Would you like to support the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg's International Partnerships? Donate to the Strong Kids Campaign and designate your donation to Support the International Partnership Program! 

Post submitted by Don Fraser,

Member - International Working Group

Y-PASS VIDEO | World Challenge

Join us on Saturday for the YMCA World Challenge: Hoop Springs Eternal!
We'll be taking part at the Downtown branch from 11 am - 1 pm.

Check out the official event video (see if you can spot the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg!)



"The Y-PASS" - YMCA World CHALLENGE 2012 from YMCA on Vimeo.