IN THIS BULLETIN...
Our program last Friday, May 3rd, began with announcements from the club. Carolyn thanked the club for another successful tree planting day. Despite the weather, everything went without a hitch and there were lots of volunteers out from all over the community!
Helmuth made an announcement about a news article that was in the Wellington Advertisor about the tree planting day. However, there was not mention of Rotary in the article. Helmuth challenged a member from our club to write a letter to the editor to educate the paper about Rotary's critical involvement in the project. If the letter is written, Helmuth will contribute $50 to the Rotary Foundation. Margaret Trainor took up the call!
Margaret made an announcement about her grandson and Rotarian, Aidan Harris heading to Ottawa for his 2 month placement. She sais that she's proud of him, but also glad that he'll only be away 2 months.
Aidan Harris made an announcement about the start of the Eradicating Human Trafficking Lawn Sign Campaign. The campaign will go for the entire month of May. If you're interested in getting a sign, please contact either Aidan or Margaret Trainor. Each sign costs $10.
Marva made the last announcement. She discussed the start of the Artseverywhere festival and how happy she was with the opening night!
After lunch, Marva introduced our guest speakers Dr. Adriana Alvarez and Mabel Weber, two of the four members of the What Remains Collective. Mabel began the presentation by discussing each member of the group. She then introduced Adriana.
Adriana explained how the group, What Remains Collective, came together. Each member of the group shared a common background and was working in similar fields. “What Remains” was born from a desire to rescue the untold stories of immigrant families speaking about their personal experience through the very objects that travelled with them or that represent their journey before, during and after crossing the many geographical, political, and invisible borders.
This work culminated in the La Trenza (The Braid), which is comprised of rescued objects in the border desert that hold unknown stories, braided with donated objects representing stories from families from immigrant backgrounds that have already crossed. The goal of this collaborative work of art is to rescue those objects of unknown and forgotten stories of real humans.
By telling this story, this piece invites viewers to reflect on the connection that compassion can create, and how it can serve as a bridge that transcends and unites all types of borders. It is a project that aims to keep growing by braiding and joining more communities around the world. Before stopping in Guelph, What Remains Collective was in Northern Ireland. When they were there, Irish people were able to weave objects that had significance to them into the braid.
While the braid and exhibit is in Guelph (from May to August), individuals from the city have the opportunity to add to the braid. Adriana explained that everyone has their own border and that it's important for each of us to be able to contribute something that represents this experience into the braid.
When discussing the work that What Remains Collective does, Adriana provided recountings of the experiences migrants have had. She talked about a girl and a mother that made the crossing between the US and Mexico and how all they had was a blanket, a stuffed animal, and a backpack. The girl was forced to leave the stuffed animal in the desert (something that commonly happens to migrants when crossing the border). The blanket the mother gave to the group to weave into the braid. Adriana had refused at first because the blanket held so much meaning to the mother, but she insisted, saying, "I give you my blanket, my best friend. He carries all of my tears. He carries all of the struggle on our way. It is a blanket that I used to cover my child from the cold and I want to give it to you for this project."
Adriana also discussed the city that she lived in, El Paso, and the border wall that divided the city in half. Families could not see each other and could only visit through the medal bars of the wall. Adriana saw weddings take place, families visiting each other, and so many more human connections. This was where her first inspiration came from. The wall was an object that dehumanized her city, but somehow, despite the wall, human connection found a way to circumvent it.
By the end of the presentation, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Crista Renner thanked the Adriana and Mabel for their presentation and for sharing their art and stories with us.
Notes taken by Otter.ai and edited by Aidan Harris.