Monday, May 23, 2016

Cycling4Diversity will be visiting Burnaby Schools on May 25th, 2016

CAYLEY DOBIE | BURNABY NOW
MAY 20, 2016 01:50 PM

Cycling4Diversity teammate Rick Lucy talks to students at Byrne Creek Secondary during a stop in Burnaby in 2013. The Cycling4Diversity team will be coming through Burnaby on Thursday. Photograph By File photo

Cyclists will be riding into Burnaby on Thursday to promote inclusiveness.

For the sixth year in a row, riders with the Cycling4Diversity Foundation are travelling around the Lower Mainland for three days in support of Cycling4Diversity Week, born out of the United Nations’ World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, which aims to promote cultural diversity through understanding and inclusion.

Riders will be stopping at Burnaby South Secondary and Byrne Creek Secondary schools for a brief presentation on May 26, said Ken Herar, one of the organizers.

“It’s a half-an-hour kind of thing just to listen to what the kids have to say about (diversity) and how can we make our communities more inclusive and interactive with each other,” he said.

Herar said the purpose of the event is to connect with kids and help them think critically about racism and what biases they may have.

“People have biases, so we need to reflect on those things to make our communities a better place,” he said. “Racism has changed and it’s still out there, but people do it in different ways. Let’s be real, it’s not just the white people as people may think, it’s everyone. Everyone has biases.”

Cycling4Diversity will be at Burnaby South Secondary at 9:30 a.m. and at Byrne Creek Secondary at 10:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.cycling4diversity.ca.

- See more at: http://www.burnabynow.com/community/cyclists-coming-to-burnaby-high-schools-1.2260365#sthash.liyCF8sP.dpuf

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Cycling4Diversity Week in the District of Mission May 22nd - May 28th, 2016

Cycling4Diversity week in Mission

The District of Mission has proclaimed May 22-28 as Cycling4Diversity week. Riders will head out beginning May 25.

— Image Credit: Kevin Mills Photo

by Kevin Mills - Mission City Record
posted May 20, 2016 at 12:00 PM

It’s Cycling4Diversity week from May 22-28 in Mission and throughout the province.

This year, riders will be taking to the streets on a three-day tour of the Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland area.

On May 25, cyclists will ride through Hope, Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs, stopping at schools and other community buildings to share stories about diversity.

Riders will go again on May 26, this time from Burnaby to Surrey and will wrap up the tour on May 27 in Mission and Abbotsford.

“We are trying to encourage people in the community to reach out to people they may not know in their neighbourhood or in their workplace and schools, to bridge the culture gaps that we still face,” said Ken Herar, founder of the event.

This year marks the sixth annual Cycling4Diversity event. Since it began, cyclists have visited more than 100 schools in the area.

“We’ve done all the schools in Mission already (except for one),” said Herar.

While it has yet to be confirmed, riders are hoping to visit Dewdney Elementary this year.

There are usually six to 10 riders at a time taking part in the event.

“It’s better with a smaller group because it gives everybody a chance to speak at the school and share their experiences. It’s not about how many people, it’s about the message,” said Herar.

Students are encouraged to share their stories as well.

“We want people to hear about the challenges, but about the positive stories as well.”

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Abbotsford MLA Darryl Plecas thanking Ken Herar

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Abbotsford News & Cycling4Diversity Colouring Contest

Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Abbotsford News & Cycling4Diveristy present: The Diversity Challenge

February 24, 2016 · 9:48 AM

Back by popular demand The Abbotsford News and Cycling4Diversity will be hosting The Diversity Challenge, giving you the readers the opportunity to provide your input on the diversity question.

Having organized this contest for many years, I have always enjoyed working with our readers and the public to create a discussion that will make people think and provide their valuable input. In that time this opportunity has allowed for some amazing responses that I have shared with all of you over the years and with some of the schools.

In this year’s Diversity Challenge there will be a question that respondents can answer in 140 characters, which the top three winners will have their answers posted on all of The News social media sites, including others prizes.

The question is: How has diversity impacted your life? Please, leave the hashtags #DiversityRocks #Cycling4Diversity, along with your response. In past years the question has been age restricted, but this year we’ve opened it to all ages and hopefully we will get an outstanding response before the March 31st deadline.

There will also be a colouring contest for children ages (five to 10), which parents can pick up at The News front desk, which is popular with young kids and usually get a entire class at schools participating vying for the top three spots. If you are a teacher and would like me to come to your class to speak to the kids about The Diversity Challenge, send me an email at my address below and I would be more than happy to come for a visit.

Whether it is the diversity question or the colouring contest, I think it’s a fabulous idea for schools to participate and it’s really exciting for me as an organizer to witness young minds in action tackling this opportunity in a positive way. There are ten cute characters that need to coloured in and diversified for our judges to inspect.

On a topic such as diversity, we at The Abbotsford News feel it’s an asset to be engaging with the public with our contest creating an understanding that diversity is our strength that will guide us into the future and build our community even stronger.

News publisher Andrew Franklin said, "The News is excited to partner with Cycling4Diversity in this awareness campaign. Our city reflects a true multicultural community and this campaign allows us to engage like-minded people to share a positive message in social media. A huge thank you to Ken Herar for spearheading this important message of an inclusive community."

As an example, here is my response to the question: It is our diversity that has allowed me the opportunity to meet and speak with so many people through this column and in so many other ways on topics and issues that affect us all. It is our diversity that always brings us together with an open mind.

Contact Ken Herar at kenherar@gmail.com

Friday, January 29, 2016

We're different on the outside, same on the inside

January 28, 2016 · Updated 9:01 AM

Abbotsford News columnist Ken Herar / FILE PHOTO

I have never forgotten the first time I experienced racism and came to the realization that I was a bit different than the rest.

Reflecting on a moment growing in our hometown of Mission where our family encountered racism for the first time to my knowledge.

Back in the 1970's people (kids) unfortunately threw eggs at homes if they were from immigrant families. Diversity wasn't a concept that was really spoken about, but it was a learning experience we had to go through.

I recall, eating supper at our dinner table one evening when a bunch of kids threw eggs, which sounded like rocks at our door and yelled, " Paki's Go Home". A bit scared and never really understanding the situation, we asked our father what do they mean. Dad replies, " We are a little different than the rest, son."

Looking back at it now he was trying to shelter us from the hate. Trying to comprehend all of this, we sucked it up and realized we had to be a bit stronger than the rest. You don't really understand it, until you know you are different.

I don't believe this happens anymore at least I hope not. We still love our town of Mission and they're are no hard feelings from our family. You move forward, but you don't really forget the lasting imprint it leaves on your conscience. You just hope it doesn't happen again to anyone else. Actually, the kids that used to do this apologized indirectly to us many years later. Even some of those eggs may have been different on the outside, they all looked the same on the inside when they were scrambled at our doorstep.

This ordeal had been on my mind for the past year to share on what some immigrant families had to go through many decades ago and reminded that we were different and had to work a little harder than the rest

I recently reached out to the three men, who were being sought after for suspicious behaviour ( Middle Eastern men) at Pacific Centre in Vancouver a few weeks ago and provided them with encouragement and shared a little what we do with Cycling4Diversity. I also gave them C4D shirts as gifts before they headed back home to England to showcase our true diverse spirit as Canadians. The first thing I said as I walked through the door to shake Mohammed Sharaz is, " I am sorry for what happened" and he responded, " Don't be sorry". The three of them, including his son and a friend were taking pictures at the downtown mall and alarms bells were raised by their behaviour by security staff, while two of them suffer from vision issues and were here for treatment. The three men turned themselves in after they found the story accidentally and images of themselves when Goggling Vancouver. During, our talk they didn't have a ill faded word to say and loved Vancouver and all the kind people who stepped forward to assist and clear the air. As Mohammed said police and security staff have a responsibility to keep people safe. But, he added it could of been handled better by some of the media outlets to protect them and their safety.

kenherar@gmail.com

Sunday, January 10, 2016

The valley’s bushiest beard

COLUMN: The valley’s bushiest beard

On the Spot by Ken Herar

I recently bumped into Thomas Hodgson, the guy with the bushiest beard probably in the Fraser Valley. He certainly wasn’t hard to miss by any stretch of the imagination as I sat in a restaurant. I shared with him that his hairy reddish beard was very impressive and he shared that it goes past his waist. I have seen my fellow Sikh brothers with beards like these, but not a Caucasian person, except for Santa, of course. I was told once that people with beards hold much wisdom.
Hodgson, who has been growing his beard for two years, says he gets a lot of strange responses from people. Women have asked him to shave it off and his response to them is to stop wearing makeup.
He explains that small children are always pleasant with him and usually hold no judgments or biases. Adults and teenagers are the worst, he explains.
“Rarely do I get a positive reaction from an adult or teens. Women in their 20s are scared and intimidated and same goes for men. Older women and men are very judgmental and stare for a long time, and make really puzzled looks and that’s the same for people who have grown up here.”
Hodgson says he feels alienated through all of this, especially when looking for employment, where many employers have asked him to shave it off.
He lost his job a year ago, and has a hard time finding a job, because many have judged him because of this very reason, but he refuses to shave it off. He says people are far more judgmental in the Fraser Valley than in the metro surroundings.
On the bright side, there are people who find it fascinating. They are usually the ones who cannot grow beards, while some just find it intriguing. It’s all not negative, according to Hodgson, but he still loves the person who he is and the beard, which makes him, who he is.
* * * * *
The Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards are approaching quickly with the deadline around the corner on Jan. 12 and the awards ceremony on March 4 at the Ramada Plaza and Conference Centre in Abbotsford. Having been a past recipient of the Champion of Diversity in 2007, I was honoured to receive this recognition.
With this award comes a responsibility to continue to serve. There are five award categories and never a shortage of outstanding nominees that showcase our community’s commitment to cultural diversity.
The event is always sold out with fine representatives from our community. The time has come that award organizers and judges should consider expanding and awarding two awards for each category. In doing this, we touch more people and create more mentors.
One thing I hear often from volunteers is they never get recognized for their work, and this would be a small way to change this perception. Having a few extra recipients will not only encourage organizations to continue to do their work, but also bring new nominees into the fold.
kenherar@gmail.com

Ken Herar