At our last meeting we heard from Areesha Butt, a student that our club sponsored to attend the Rotary Adventures in Human Rights in Winnipeg this year. Here is the text of her presentation.
This month, I had the privilege of traveling to Winnipeg to participate in Rotary Adventures in Human Rights, an experience made possible through the generous support of the Strathcona Rotary Club. Over the course of the week, I had the opportunity to visit several powerful and thought-provoking sites, including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, FortWhyte Alive, IRCOM, the Manitoba Legislative Building, and the Manitoba Museum. The experience not only deepened my understanding of human rights, but also broadened my perspective on the complex histories and lived realities that shape our communities.
The first day, we visited IRCOM and learned about refugitive rights and how refugees and immigrants make up Canada. We were also fortunate enough to meet some of the families staying there and were able to talk to them. IRCOM is not just a refugitive center— it's home to many individuals, one where diversity is celebrated, and every person has the chance to contribute to the country they now call home.
The main focal point of the program was the Canadian museum for Human Rights, Walking through the canadian museum for human rights was an experience I will never forget. Each exhibit displayed the heartbreaking stories of unimaginable justice that people had gone through and yet had found courage to resist, to speak out and to hope. I think the exhibits served as a powerful reminder that the rights we take for granted today were hard won and that we now have the responsibility to protect those rights for people that may not yet have those rights. I realized what a privilege it is to only know grief in stories. Inside the museum all the students in the program had time to discuss, debate and share our perspectives. We talked about AIs effect on the world and about the atrocities happening around the world, debated about women's reproductive rights and the right to an abortion, talked about aboriginal culture and a lot of other topics. For me it was very interesting to hear all the different perspectives and for once look at the world through their lens.
I think the most meaningful thing I did while I was in Winnipeg was the service project we did in central park together where we made and gave out food to people in need. Every person I met during the program was incredibly kind—so much so that I felt at home and raised my hand in discussions without a second thought.. Overall I had the time of my life, made so many memories and learned so much. It was during this week that I realized that there is no audience to impress, no applause to chase and no people to please. I didn’t leave Manitoba with answers, I left with questions that stayed with me, reshaping how I understand the world, and quietly challenging who I thought I was.
