A battle with loneliness Activists encourage support to help bolster community-feel

 By MISSY JOHNSON

In light of International Women’s Day, activists in Surrey are encouraging more people to support women who have arrived in the city from a foreign country and are vulnerable to social issues such as loneliness.

Sonia Andhi, founder of the Shakti Society, hosted an Awards Gala on March 7 to honour women in the city who are doing inspiring work.

The Shakti Society hosts wellness days and community cafes. Andhi says they want to bring women together who might otherwise be isolated and give them community.

“When women are feeling like they are a part of the community, they will contribute more,” she said.

“If they feel that what they're saying matters, of course, they'll speak up more, so for us it's really about creating those safe spaces and showing women that what you say really matters.”

Andhi knows first-hand how immigrating to a new country can cause loneliness.

“I was one of them, where you come here, you don't know anyone, you just know your husband,” she said. “It can be very intimidating.”

Neelam Sahota, CEO of DIVERSEcity Community Resources Soci- ety, was one of the Shakti awards recipients. She said Surrey benefits from women being lifted up in many different ways.

“Once they feel like they have a sense of belonging that anchors them, that encourages them to be individuals that can contribute in many ways from their areas of strength.”

Founded more than 40 years ago, DIVERSEcity was one of the first organizations of its kind in Surrey to offer immigrant and refugee women support to become integrated members of society.

Tanweer Ebrahim, CEO of NISA Helpline, which women can call to talk about their issues and seek support, immigrated to Canada over 10 years ago.

She says although there have been changes, women in Surrey are still facing isolation.

“We have one woman who called the helpline every day just because she's lonely,” she said. “That proves that this platform is needed.”

Between 2011 and 2016, Surrey welcomed over 36,000 immigrants and is home to 25 per cent of Metro Vancouver’s recent immigrants.

“We each have our part to play, and from the government, to the city and in our local communities, we complete each other by doing our share,” Ebrahim said.

He said over 90 per cent of these cases were in four countries, two of which have “significantly declining epidemics.”

“We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus,” Ghebreyesus said in his statement. “All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”

As of The Voice’s publication time, there were 46 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia. Four individuals had recovered. One person, an 80-year-old man with existing health challenges, has died from the disease. The Lynn Valley Care Centre resident in North Vancouver died March 8.

In a March 11 press conference, Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, confirmed she has been talking to post-secondary institutions about the importance of taking “community distancing measures.” Henry said she would be having more detailed discussions with post-secondary institutions over the coming days.

“We must all at this time step up our social distancing. This is not forever, but for the coming weeks,” Henry said.

In an emailed statement to The Voice, the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training said the ministry remains in close contact with post-secondary institutions to monitor the impact of the outbreak. “Institutions are advised to follow their own emergency response planning and remain in communication with their students, staff, faculty and community,” said the ministry statement.

Langara’s latest COVID-19 website update, posted March 10, advised all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to have been to Hubei, China, or Iran to stay home or selfisolate for 14 days.

During the first week of March, Langara’s Food Services began storing single-use cutlery in a box at each cashier’s workstation, only available upon request. Patrick Villarama, assistant director of food services for Chartwells, said the decision was made because of COVID-19.

As a temporary measure to prevent virus spread, Tim Hortons and Starbucks on campus have stopped accepting re-useable cups.