Photo by Jamie Podmorow.
Alaina Podmorow — humanitarian from Canada — is the cover person in the March/April 2010 issue of Independent World Report.
…
What are the choices we have, when we are told about the plight of our fellow human beings — men, women and children? Three years back, a nine-year-old school girl in Canada was told about the terrible life of women and girls in Afghanistan, as she attended a talk given by journalist and humanitarian activist Sally Armstrong.
Alaina Podmorow — now thirteen — knew what her choice was. She contacted Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, and asked if she could join the organisation. She was welcomed with open arms. Thus, Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan was born — a humanitarian organisation of young girls in Canada, trying to help the girls in Afghanistan. The organisation raises funds in order to support female education in Afghanistan, with the motto: Education = Peace.
Three years on, Little Women for Little Women has raised thousands of dollars for its cause, by hosting events all across Canada. What started as a twenty-member team is now growing into a national movement. In partnership with Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, the organisation supports a teacher training project and an orphanage in Kabul; a number of schools and a village library.
And, it all started the day Alaina Podmorow became a humanitarian.
In her own words, “I am the founder of Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan. I founded this organisation three years ago, when I was nine years old. In the fall of 2006, I found out that the privileges that I have, other girls in our world do not get. I learned about this when I went with my mom to listen to journalist, author and human rights activist, Sally Armstrong speak about Afghanistan. She told stories about the terrible things that happen to little girls in Afghanistan. I was so moved. It was so upsetting to me that these girls were not able to exercise their rights. They were not able to go to school and sometimes they did not go to school because they were afraid they would be hurt or even killed.”
Sharmin Afsana — Managing Editor, Independent World Report — interviewed Alaina Podmorow.
This interview is only available for subscribers.
