April 29th, 2014
I Choose Dign!ty Press
Citizenship Edition: Spring 2014
We at EAFWR are proud and excited to share the very first edition of the I Choose Dignity Press.
This magazine will be issued twice a year and will focus on telling the stories of families and individuals we support, celebrating our community and igniting conversation.
This issue is all about citizenship, and what it means to different people with varying perspectives.
Enjoy the read!
Maria de Boer, EAFWR Executive Director
I Choose Dignity Press: Citizenship Edition
Maria’s Message
At the age of four,I left my home, my birth place, and all my relatives and together with my immediate family journeyed to Canada. This land, while not flowing with milk and honey, was portrayed as a country full of opportunities, wide open spaces and a good place to raise children. No one told my parents about the harsh winters, the barrenness and the isolation. (continue reading)
Citizenship: We Belong – Maria Truchan-Tataryn
When reflecting on citizenship, as a parent of children with disabilities, I feel bewildered. I’m struck immediately with a dissonance of meanings. Shall I write about what citizenship is supposed to be or shall I write about how it is yet another term that serves to exclude my daughter, whose body can’t quite fit the expectations of “body” when we typically say “everybody”? (continue reading)
Sarah and Niki’s Learning Journey – Karen Bennett
In preparation for interviewing Sarah and Niki I took the opportunity to read, reflect and talk with others about citizenship — what it means for people and, when it isn’t experienced as such, why not. And, although we can discuss citizenship in a myriad of ways, my focus was the discussion of this around the concept of disability, its meaning to and for people who are labeled in this way. (continue reading)