Catherine Garacho
Welcome to Fred Martin and and our speaker, Catherine Garacho. Fred is a part of the Rotary Peace Scholarship Program at the University of Waterloo. Rotary Peace Scholarship is funded by the five Kitchener Rotary Clubs. The Past District Governor, Kathy Dick, would like to see other clubs in other areas join in.
Catherine completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with Minor in Law and Society from Concordia University. She is the 2017-2018 recipient of the Rotary MPACS Scholarship.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Catherine moved to the United States and then to Montreal to pursue further education. She has since moved to the Waterloo Region to pursue a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) degree in hopes of contributing to peace with particular interest in women's rights and youth education. She was involved in The Rotary Club of Borrowdale Brooke, Zimbabwe.When Catherine is finished with her degree, she has plans to return to Zimbabwe to give back in whatever capacity she can. She is involved in an organization called Keepers Alert, a grassroot organization that works with homeless people. They get people off the street and provide mentorship and training. They fundraise from private donors to move homeless people into proper housing, providing them with food and showers and also get their children involved in school. Some sponsorship come from Italy and Australia. Catherine was there for six months and she was very excited to be a part of the project.
What is the next step for Catherine? She will move back home and get involved. Catherine closed with a quote from Nelson Mandela:
"History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children"