DIGNITY FOR ALL PROGRAM
OUR PARTNERS Gold Partner ($3,000+)
Silver Partner ($2,000 - $2,999)
Bronze Partner ($1,000 - $1,999)
The Kaushal Family
Partner ($150 - $999)
Dignity For All Program: A Quick Glance (A Joint Newsletter Between Crescent School and Havergal College) Message from the Chair With March Break behind us, and just a few months until the end of the school year, we are in a good position to finish off the school year strong! Our fundraising goal of $50,000 is very manageable, as our fund currently has just under $36,000. We would like to continue to thank our partners, namely Home Trust (gold partner), the Royal Conservatory of Music (gold partner) and CIBC (silver partner). We are still hoping for a few partners; if you or your company is interested, please do not hesitate to contact any member of our fundraising team.
We also hope to continue opening our doors to government-sponsored refugees. Our first two experiences at Crescent School and Havergal College on February 20 and 27 respectively were very successful. We hope to continue this practice, with activities such as conversational English, soccer, basketball, floor hockey, arts & crafts, board games and lego centre. The Dignity For All program has taken huge strides thus far, and we are committed to continue our great work. We would like to thank members of the Crescent and Havergal community for their continued support of the program. - Ronald Chow, Student Chair
April 1, 2016
Issue 5
Dignity For All Program: A Quick Glance (A Joint Newsletter Between Crescent School and Havergal College) Our Fundraising Progress Our fund currently registers just under $36,000, in addition to the Royal Conservatory of Music’s generous $5,000 scholarship for two Syrian children/teenagers. We would like to continue to extend our gratitude to all of our partners’ continued support. Crescent School will be hosting two more internal fundraisers this year, and we hope that more partnerships will allow us to reach our $50,000 fundraising target. If you and/or your corporation are interested in supporting the Dignity For All program through a financial contribution, please do not hesitate to contact any member of our fundraising team.
100%
90%
80%
- Selina Chow, Chief Financial Officer 70%
If you are interested in partnering with us and offering a financial contribution, please do not hesitate to contact any member of our fundraising team for more details: Selina Chow Joseph Sumabat Jack Williamson Harrison Hui Ryan Boyd
schow@havergal.on.ca josephsumabat@crescentschool.org jackwilliamson@crescentschool.org harrisonhui@crescentschool.org ryanboyd@crescentschool.org
60%
50%
40%
Dignity For All Program Ronald Chow, Student Chair Mr. Mehernosh Pestonji, (Crescent School) Faculty Chair Mr. Gordon Grisé, (Havergal College) Faculty Chair Tyler Mark, Student Co-Chair
30%
Editorial Board of “Dignity For All Program: A Quick Glance” William Gill, Editor-In-Chief Spencer Dale, Associate Editor
Selina Chow, Editor-In-Chief Angelina Pan, Associate Editor
Our Fundraising Team Selina Chow, Chief Financial Officer Joseph Sumabat, Executive Assistant Jack Williamson, Financial Planner Harrison Hui, Financial Planner Ryan Boyd, Financial Planner April 1, 2016
20%
10%
0%
Issue 5
Dignity For All Program: A Quick Glance (A Joint Newsletter Between Crescent School and Havergal College) Who is Bashar al-Assad?
Bashar al-Assad was born as the second son to Aniseh and Hafez al-Assad, the former Prime Minister of Syria for over thirty years. He barely saw his father, who was often in the office and never with his family. Bashar had five siblings: a sister who died in infancy, a brother who had some type of disability, another sister, and two other brothers. Bashar was the quiet, reserved child of the family. Unlike his older brother Bassel, who was the heir apparent to the political throne and described as charismatic and commanding, Bashar had little interest in either politics or the military. Instead, he went on to study medicine, becoming an ophthalmologist. In 1994, the course of his life and that of Syria’s, perhaps even the world’s, changed dramatically: Bassel died in a car accident. Bashar was recalled from his medical training in London and entered the military academy, thus beginning his grooming as the new heir. Ten days after his father’s death on June 10th, 2000, Bashar was chosen as president of Syria and the commander-in-chief of the military. In the early days of his presidency, young, well-educated and influenced by his western education and urban upbringing, Assad was believed to be the one to bring change to Syria, transforming it from his father’s regime to a modern state. Assad promised to end corruption in the government and to move Syria forward into the 21st century. However, these promises, and those of economic and human rights reform, never materialized. For a decade, he ruled with an iron fist just as his father did. He successfully supressed internal dissention, censored his people, left the economy in shambles, and maintained volatile relations with the international community. On January 26th, 2011, following successful regime changes in other Middle Eastern countries, protests began in Syria, setting off the chain of events that has led to five years of civil war, more than 250,000 dead, and millions of refugees. This is Bashar al-Assad’s current legacy as president, and he seems to have no intention of letting the end come in sight. What, one must wonder, will he do next? - Sarah Zhao, Havergal College
April 1, 2016
Issue 5
Dignity For All Program: A Quick Glance (A Joint Newsletter Between Crescent School and Havergal College) The ISIS Effect
5 Years of Civil War
Since March of 2011, the crisis in Syria has quickly escalated from antigovernment protests to a civil war. It is estimated that since the outbreak of the war, over 250,000 people have been killed, and 11 million people have been forced to leave their homes. With constant violence and inadequate basic necessities such as food, water, and health care, Syria’s living conditions are only getting worse, forcing civilians to seek refuge in other countries. Furthermore, nations led by USA and Russia have been bombing Syria, targeting regions controlled by President Assad and ISIS. However, this has limited the direct humanitarian aid in Syria, and prompted more civilians to flee. All of these conflicts have contributed to the exponential growth of the Syrian refugee population—from 100,000 in 2012 to just under 4.5 million refugees today registered or awaiting registration with the United Nations High Commission of Refugees. - Sabrina Mastroianni, Havergal College
The terrorist organization called the Islamic State of Iran and Syria, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh, has been in the international spotlight since 2014, when it became increasingly active in Syria and Iraq. ISIS has also become a force of terror globally in the past couple of months, launching attacks on cities like Paris, Beirut, and most recently, Brussels. ISIS is not only claiming lives in Iraq, Syria, and across the world, but is having a massive effect on the perception and acceptance of Syrian refugees. In the attacks on Paris, a Syrian passport was found near the body of a suicide bomber, which immediately created the perception that the bombers could have traveled into Paris under the pretext of being Syrian refugees. Concerned that refugees may be terrorists in disguise, countries are frightened to open their borders, worried that they will be the next country under attack. This thought alone has prompted countries like Poland to rethink their decision to accept Syrian refugees altogether. However, it has been speculated that the passport found in Paris was deliberately placed and designed to create distrust and apprehension towards Syrian refugees. Despite that, it is still very easy for citizens to blame violence on refugees who have recently found a home in their country; it is much harder for people to attribute violence to a terrorist organization that is, for most countries, based hundreds of miles away. The decision to deny refugees acceptance has proved to be an easy one for several countries around the world. This fear that ISIS has helped create has greatly affected the acceptance of refugees, making it harder for them to be welcomed by their host community. - Clare Morneau, Havergal College
April 1, 2016
Issue 5