Friday, December 29, 2017
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Friday, October 27, 2017
Friday, October 20, 2017
Presenting on the history of the South Asian community of Mission as part of Mission Moments Series
http://www.mission.ca/125-2/mission-moments-history-missions-south-asian-community/
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Friday, August 4, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Friday, May 12, 2017
Tony McAleer to speak in Mission with Cycling4Diversity
Former white supremicist to speak in Mission
He will appear as part of Cycling4Diversity event
The Cycling4Diversity team is finishing their sixth annual tour on May 26 at the Mission Leisure Centre (5 to 7 p.m.) led by local resident and C4D founder Ken Herar.
The public is invited to attend and listen to former white supremacist Tony McAleer, who will be the guest speaker at the event.
McAleer will talk about his former life and the changes he made to escape the culture of hate.
There will also be two other speakers that evening: Kal Dosanjh, a Vancouver police officer and CEO of Kidsplay, as well as Kristine Heinrichs, who recently threw coloured rice bags in driveways to counteract the KKK tactic and embrace diversity in Abbotsford.
“We encourage the public to come and welcome our team at the Leisure Centre and there will be food, refreshments and T-shirts given out to those to attend. We look forward to meeting with the community in celebrating Cycling4Diversity Week,” said executive director Anne Marie Sjoden.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Reflecting on South Asian history on the 125th anniversary of the District of Mission
Black Press columnist Ken Herar
will be writing a special, three-part series on the history of the
South Asian community in Mission, as part of Mission’s 125th anniversary
celebrations.
The stories will run the second Friday of the month, beginning May 12 in the Mission City Record.
Herar,
who is born and raised in Mission and comes from a pioneer South Asian
family, has written many columns on the life and contributions of his
community, during his 22 years as a columnist.
He
is reaching out to the public who may have any interesting stories they
would like to share as part of this series as the District gets
prepared to celebrate its 125th anniversary on June 4 at Fraser River Heritage Park.
“I
am excited and honoured about this opportunity about connecting the
local South Asian community’s past to its present. History sometimes
gets forgotten and its important to connect those valuable dots.,” said
Herar.
“There
are so some amazing stories and personalities that need to be retold so
the generations to follow can be proud of the vibrant and strong
diverse relationships that have been built over the past century.
Mission is a role model community where diversity is working as the
community is constantly changing in its demographics.
“It’s not going to be easy to condense so many amazing stories in three upcoming columns, but I am committed in doing my best.”
Herar, will also be doing a presentation to mayor and council on Oct. 16 on the ongoing Mission Moments series in conjunction with the anniversary.
If you have a story to share with Herar, contact him at kenherar@gmail.com.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Enrique Rempel remembered and Diversity Awards announced
Congratulations, to all the nominees and recipients of The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards (FVCDA), which were held last week in Abbotsford.
The FVCDA started in 2003 to recognize organizations and individuals that embrace diversity in the community.
Close to 50 nominees were from Abbotsford, Mission, Langley and Chilliwack. Having been on both sides as a nominee and a recipient of the Champion of Diversity Award in 2007, I can only say to all that it should be an honour for you or your organization, whether you made it onstage or not, to be part of such a fabulous evening to recognize worthy causes in our communities.
This year’s recipients were:
I bumped into a good friend a few weeks ago and we had the most engaging conversation about some of our upcoming Cycling4Diversity events, which he was excited to be part of. A few days later, I was informed that be suddenly passed away at his home.
I was completely shocked to hear this horrible news about Henry (Enrique) Rempel, who, in my humble opinion, was a true Champion of Diversity for our community and helped out our citizens who were homeless. He met with them regularly and bought them coffee and invited them to his home to meet with his children.
Rempel was a highly principled individual who cared about making lives better for people and staying out of the spotlight or gathering recognition.
His wife Katharina said: “He always had a passion to look after people who were marginalized, weak and vulnerable.”
She shared with me that they had a person live with them at their home for a few months who was a recovering addict.
Christine Wiebe has been a long-time volunteer in our community and has served as executive assistant to Abbotsford MLAs Bill Ritchie and Peter Dueck from 1979-1994. She had these inspiring words to say about our local volunteers to bring our diverse community together:
“Each and every contribution by a volunteer is of significance for the betterment of Abbotsford in building our community and bringing people together.
“As you can tell by the award programs, volunteers are respected and appreciated.
“The spinoff from volunteers brings out their professions and talents, and offers the volunteer an opportunity to prove themselves in many ways. In every community there is work to be done.
“What are some of the benefits? Fulfilling dreams, learning something new, sharing knowledge, joy of giving, achievement, meeting sponsors, providing inspiration, laughing, and having fun, just to name a few.
“Volunteering has been a passion of mine for over 70 years, but four years ago I took a look at my bucket list and decided it was time to fulfill some of my dreams.
“Shortly, I will find out how successful I have been and how empty my bucket list will be.”
The FVCDA started in 2003 to recognize organizations and individuals that embrace diversity in the community.
Close to 50 nominees were from Abbotsford, Mission, Langley and Chilliwack. Having been on both sides as a nominee and a recipient of the Champion of Diversity Award in 2007, I can only say to all that it should be an honour for you or your organization, whether you made it onstage or not, to be part of such a fabulous evening to recognize worthy causes in our communities.
This year’s recipients were:
- Inclusive Environment (small organizations) – The Water Shed Arts Cafe, Langley;
- Inclusive Environment (medium and large organizations) – University of the Fraser Valley;
- Marketing – Seabird Island Health Services, Agassiz;
- Innovative Initiative (small organizations) – Spill Ur Beanz, Fraser Valley;
- Innovative Initiative (medium and large organizations) – Emma’s Acres, Mission;
- Effective Human Resources Strategies – Correctional Service of Canada;
- National Employment Equity and Diversity Strategic Plan and Champion of Diversity – Kanta Naik with the Abbotsford school district.
I bumped into a good friend a few weeks ago and we had the most engaging conversation about some of our upcoming Cycling4Diversity events, which he was excited to be part of. A few days later, I was informed that be suddenly passed away at his home.
I was completely shocked to hear this horrible news about Henry (Enrique) Rempel, who, in my humble opinion, was a true Champion of Diversity for our community and helped out our citizens who were homeless. He met with them regularly and bought them coffee and invited them to his home to meet with his children.
Rempel was a highly principled individual who cared about making lives better for people and staying out of the spotlight or gathering recognition.
His wife Katharina said: “He always had a passion to look after people who were marginalized, weak and vulnerable.”
She shared with me that they had a person live with them at their home for a few months who was a recovering addict.
Christine Wiebe has been a long-time volunteer in our community and has served as executive assistant to Abbotsford MLAs Bill Ritchie and Peter Dueck from 1979-1994. She had these inspiring words to say about our local volunteers to bring our diverse community together:
“Each and every contribution by a volunteer is of significance for the betterment of Abbotsford in building our community and bringing people together.
“As you can tell by the award programs, volunteers are respected and appreciated.
“The spinoff from volunteers brings out their professions and talents, and offers the volunteer an opportunity to prove themselves in many ways. In every community there is work to be done.
“What are some of the benefits? Fulfilling dreams, learning something new, sharing knowledge, joy of giving, achievement, meeting sponsors, providing inspiration, laughing, and having fun, just to name a few.
“Volunteering has been a passion of mine for over 70 years, but four years ago I took a look at my bucket list and decided it was time to fulfill some of my dreams.
“Shortly, I will find out how successful I have been and how empty my bucket list will be.”
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Learning more about the Abbotsford Islamic Centre
Assalamualaikum! (Peace may be upon you) I had the wonderful
opportunity to attend our local mosque here in Abbotsford where they held a
vigil on January 31st for the six victims that were killed at a
Quebec mosque. The attack is being
called a “ terrorist” attack by many brought many Canadians together from all
faiths. One thing that is very clear is
if you keep an open mind with a purpose to learn it is amazing what can be
accomplished. That is exactly what I had in mind to do when this opportunity
can up to support our local Muslim community and to see what can be done to
break down walls and build further bridges.
Actually, this was my first opportunity attending a mosque where
many visitors were paying their respects to the victims bringing flowers and filling
an entire table. Many dignitaries were in attendance: Mayor Henry Braun, MLA Darryl Plecas, Coun. Kelly Chahal, Coun.
Sandy Blue and Abby Police Chief Bob Rich.
All spoke to share their grief and ensure the public that we all stand
with our Muslim brothers and sisters and that we have much more in common than
we differ. Many leaders from various faiths were also offering their prayers to
express our joint commonality. The
Abbotsford Islamic Centre opened in 2009 on Salton Rd and before that the
community met at Cedar Park in Abbotsford.
Iman Islam Khokhar, who is a religious scholar at the centre
spoke at the vigil and shared some thoughts as to how we can create further
dialogue preventing further attacks. He
said: “It is nice to see the discussions between the non Muslim and Muslim
communities. The bigger issue in all of
this is Muslims have all Canadian values, and have men and women who serve in
all levels of society to protect our nation. It is unfortunate to see that we
have just received that recognition.
“As Muslims we are making further efforts to reach out to
the greater community and would like to invite everyone to drop by at our open
house tomorrow Saturday, Feb 11th from 10-3pm. People, who have questions
or concerns should come and meet with members. There are many misconceptions and one of them
are that men and women are not equal in Islam. In reality, women have more
rights than men in our culture. For example, it is a man’s responsibility to
provide for his wife and children and mother. The women have the right to
refuse to work and that is how the majority of Muslim families think.
“If Muslims were violent people they would have retaliated
against those who were involved in the Quebec attack. Majority of Muslims are
not violent and condone it.”
The 14th Annual Cultural Diversity Awards will be
happening on Friday, March 3rd from 6-9pm at the Quality Inn and
Conference Centre in Abbotsford. It’s always a fun evening meeting some of our
outstanding leaders in diversity. This year’s Masters of Ceremonies is again
Free Lee from CBC Radio and the Guest Speaker will be Tamara Taggard from CTV
News. For more information and tickets contact
Patricia Driessen at cda@
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Cycling4Diversity speaks at Kwantlen Polytechnic Univeristy in 2013
Cycling4Diversity set to stop at KPU Surrey and speak about breaking down cultural barriers
May 17 / 2013
"We're excited to be stopping at Kwantlen and sharing in our message of celebrating our cultural diversity and being inclusive during Cycling4Diversity Week in British Columbia," said Ken Herar, Founder, Cycling4Diversity. "Living in a multicultural country we should never stop building bridges and partnerships. The support from all the universities, colleges and public schools has been extremely encouraging. The team is honoured to deliver this important message."
At the May 22 event, KPU representatives will be presenting a donation to Cycling4Diversity and will join Surrey City Councillor Barinder Rasode who will declare May 19-25 "Cycling4Diversity Week."
"KPU is pleased to welcome Cycling4Diversity at its Surrey stop in this year's journey," said KPU President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Alan Davis. "We applaud the initiative and commitment of the riders in supporting diversity and equality in all our communities."
Cycling4Diversity began in 2011 to celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on May 21, a day proclaimed by the United Nations.
The event will be held at 6:00 p.m. at 12666 72nd Avenue, Surrey.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has been serving the Metro Vancouver region for 30 years, and has opened doors to success for more than 250,000 people. Four campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley—offer a comprehensive range of sought-after programs, including business, liberal arts, science, design, health, trades and technology, apprenticeships, horticulture, and academic and career advancement. Over 18,000 students annually have a choice from over 200 programs, including bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates and citations.
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For more information about KPU, contact:
Joanne Saunders
Director, Communications and Marketing Services
Tel: 604.598.6188
joanne.saunders@kwantlen.ca
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun speaks about his diversity
COLUMN: From Paraguay to Abbotsford: A closer look at Mayor Braun
January 14, 2017 · Updated 1:08 PMOn the Spot by Ken Herar
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun is someone who has experienced diversity inside and out. It’s inspiring to see the head of our local government sharing his life story that can change how we interact with each other and emphasize that discrimination is not just solely based on skin colour.
Having come from Paraguay to Canada with his family at the age of three and a half, Braun has an amazing story to share. His family knew little English as newcomers to Canada, and that made things difficult at times as they settled in Abbotsford.
I had the opportunity to speak with him over the telephone and he was happy to share stories that illustrate it wasn’t easy for them. He recalls when his mother Margaret made his clothes for him when he was about four and a half when they lived on Bradner Road, he was mocked by other children for being different. Before moving to Brander Road, the Brauns lived in a chicken barn for the first few months.
Braun also remembers running beside his father George while he was cycling, and a
Braun has a lot of empathy for immigrants and refugees. As he puts it, “My parents came with no
Braun enjoys his visits at the Sikh temples, and members from the community often ask why he hasn’t visited from time to time. He feels he needs an invite and doesn’t want it to appear to be a political gesture; otherwise, he attends on special occasions like Diwali, and gave New Year’s greeting to all three temples.
There are things that can be done to make people in our community more aware of diversity, says Braun, and it should be celebrated and valued.
“When I hear of people in isolation, that bothers me because I know how I felt as a kid.”
With Abbotsford being the third most diverse city in Canada, here’s an excerpt of what Mayor Braun said at his New Year’s greetings at the local Sikh temples:
“Moving into a new year is both reflective and exciting. It’s a time to reflect on the past year … to think about how we have been blessed or been a blessing to others … to think about how we have fallen short, what we have learned and how we have grown. It’s a time to also look forward with excitement and hope for the new year … a new year that is full of opportunities to serve and grow.
“This opportunity for us to have reflective moments is important – it makes us grateful and humble. It helps us to appreciate our fellowship with one another in a community like this, with our families, with our neighbours. It helps us appreciate our faith and the comfort it brings, but also the challenge it sets for us to serve each other and to live in peace and harmony.
“We live in a city shaped by a diverse cultural fabric. This diversity is who we are. It fosters a vibrant and complete community, and it’s something we can all celebrate.”
A response to the above column was received. Name of the writer was left out due to confidently.
Dear Mr. Herar,
I
just read your article on Mayor Henry Braun and I want to thank you
for this insight into Mr. Braun. All too often when people reach
certain levels
of public stature, the real stories are obscured by gossip,
half-truths, and ignorance. Which is why I always try to give people
the benefit of the doubt and, whenever possible, get to know them in
person and decide for myself.
This
is especially true with the Mayor, for I work for the City Parks
department and there is so much gossip and misinformation (willful and
ignorant),
about the mayor. Also, too often, and this is true for myself, those
of us who have had to endure great obstacles and overcome hurdles in
life and have actually accomplished a lot, are reluctant, due to our
nature, to "toot our own horn".
Again, thank you for your excellent and inspiring article on Henry Braun.
Sincerely,
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