Overcoming 'intercultural barriers'
There has been a new development regarding the bike raffle that was drawn two weeks ago.
Winner Amber Zurowski of Abbotsford was thrilled to win the Cycling4Diversity bike, which I had the pleasure of riding to Victoria.
A few days after notifying Zurowski, she expressed to me that no one in her family rides a bike and would like to give it back to the Cycling4Diversity team for next May's trek.
She called Sarina Derksen, who was announced last week by the team to be the executive coordinator of the Cycling4Diversity ride in 2012. For a reduced price, Derksen recommended to me that we purchase the Devinci Oslo Hybrid bike from Zurowski for next year's ride and the years to follow.
Derksen said: "As the message of diversity is spreading throughout our communities, the response has been encouraging, therefore, we expect an even greater turnout for next year's ride."
The Cycling4Diversity team is thankful for the contribution made by Diane Delves of Quantum Properties, which made this all possible.
As I continue to express, the best way to overcome intercultural barriers is by encouraging people to become active in their communities. Programs are a wonderful way of initiating discussions.
Instead of placing blame, we all need to do better and include people from different cultures into our lives.
The success of diversity depends on our willingness to accept that there may be some differences, but also to work together for a common future. The Go-Ahead Power Project is an example of how we can develop relationships with new immigrant youth from ages 11-17. The program is funded by Coast Capital Savings and in partnership with Abbotsford Community Services.
The program's goals are to provide a sense of belonging and involvement in bridging cultural gaps.
Illana Boychuk said: "The project was also to implement change in their own lives by community involvement, opportunities and resources."
Another great local program that is building on international friendships is between the African nation of Namibia and the City of Abbotsford.
Since 2007, the Abbotsford Police Department has been involved in a police exchange program with the Windhoek City Police to assist it with its development as a new city police department.
Windhoek, which is the capital city of Namibia, decided to establish the country's first city police department beginning in 2006. Abbotsford Deputy Police Chief, Rick Lucy said: "There have been five exchanges focusing on a variety of areas. This sixth exchange, happening this week, will see three officers from their records section coming here to explore our records management system (PRIME), crime analysis, CompStat, and crime mapping."
There's a lot of positive activities that are occurring in our communities and I encourage people to get involved.
- Ken Herar is a freelance columnist. Contact him at: kenherar@gmail.com.
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