The V-Day Oliver-Osoyoos 2015 campaign is well underway, as volunteers and participants gear up for the 2nd Annual One Billion Rising Celebration and Art Show to be held on Sunday, March 8 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) Community Hall.
“This year’s art show, ‘The Silent Voice’ has motivated us to stretch the boundaries of women and violence, giving often silenced voices a platform to be heard.” says Art Show co-ordinator Maxyne Lockhart. “I feel strongly on both a personal and political level that addressing the issue of violence against women is necessary if we are to move forward as a healthy loving community.”
Lockhart isn’t the only volunteer for whom the subject has a personal meaning. OIB member Darlene George, who has been a part of V-Day Oliver-Osoyoos since the beginning had this to say about her involvement:
“I became involved because ending violence against women is something I think all people should aspire for,” she said. “Being of First Nations descent brings with it a very high sense of urgency as First Nations women continue to go missing and continue to be found dead at a much higher rate than the average Canadian.
“Why? Our women are marginalized when reported missing. Instead of investigating the missing women, they are first judged and publically denounced as being involved in high-risk lifestyles. The reality is that First Nations People have the highest rate of poverty in our nation, which is proven to be one of the biggest contributing factors to high-risk lifestyles.”
V-Day Oliver-Osoyoos is still accepting artist registrations and are always looking for volunteers to help.
V-Day Oliver-Osoyoos is busy preparing for their production of ‘The Vagina Monologues’, to be held in Osoyoos on April 10-11.
For more information, please visit www.vdayoliverosoyoos.org or email [email protected].
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Osoyoos Times
