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The following statement was issued today by Joan Burke, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. It was also read in the House of Assembly: I rise today to give special recognition to the Grand Falls-Windsor Committee Against Violence for their recent initiative to raise awareness about violence among students in central Newfoundland. The Committee Against Violence is one of six regional coordinating committees funded by the Violence Prevention Initiative, a government-community partnership to develop and implement long-term solutions to the problem of violence against those most at risk in our society. Last month the committee sponsored the play, Broken Hearts, Broken Homes, which focuses on five students and how violence has affected their lives. Although the issues they face are difficult ones, their lives are turned around through the intervention of a teacher. The play expresses positive messages of hope and both the characters in the play and those watching realize that they don�t have to deal with violence on their own. I would like to highlight the generosity of the Fry Family Foundation, which provided funding for the project. In addition to paying for the 14 shows which were seen by over 5,000 people � approximately 4,800 of them students � they also paid for a coordinator for the event and the cost to bus those students to the shows. Students from 36 schools as far away as Baie Verte, Twillingate and Hare Bay attended the shows in Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander. The Committee Against Violence was able to made sure no school was left out because of the financial cost of attending and opened the event free of charge to others interested in attending, requiring food bank donations only. They are now working towards bringing the play to other regions in the province and are even considering creating a video. The Committee Against Violence is a prime example of the positive work being done to eliminate violence in this province and I congratulate them on their efforts. 2004 12 14 2:10 p.m. |
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