Certificates of Appreciation from Town of Ajax

Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) has been presenting workshops across Canada as part of the DARE2 Project initiative to raise awareness of Islamophobia and online hate with resources that can assist with countering racism both online and offline. https://www.ccmw.com/dare.  

Durham Region CCMW has presented ten workshops to local schools, towns, and community organizations by a team of women.  Team membersFarzana Balapatel and Kubra Mir were recognized by the Town of Ajax and presented certificates of appreciation by Mayor Designate Marilyn Crawford for their work in presenting the DARE2 workshops. In attendance for the presentation were Regional Ward 2 Councillor -  Sterling Lee, Councillor Ward 1 - Rob Tyler-Morin, Councillor Ward 2- Ashmeed Khan, Regional Ward 3 Councillor - Joanne Dies, Durham region members Arshia Ali, Mumtaz Patel, Maryum Ahmed and Natalia Kassim-Fontenelle.

Farzana immigrated from India 24 years ago and has lived in Durham for over a decade now. She is a professor at Ontario college and recently won an award for her Master's thesis from the Canadian Association of Research in Early Childhood Education. In the presentations, Farzana speaks about her journey to wear the hijab and how she has faced discrimination from people.  

Kubra is President of Durham Region, CCMW and moved to Ajax 11 years ago. In the workshops on Islamophobia and Cyberbullying, she speaks about growing up in Ontario, Canada, and being discriminated against for being a person of colour. 

As Ajax and other areas of Durham are becoming more ethnically diverse, these women are making a difference by educating people about racism and how we can counter it.