Students at Héritage High School respond to Youth Speaking Tour

Our third school visit was at Héritage High School on the south shore of Montreal, a regional school with over 1500 students. One hundred and twenty five 15-16 year olds came to our presentation in the school's library. 

Ayanda did a fantastic job. He is an excellent speaker--and students were completely engaged. They were  moved by his story and really appreciated having the chance to ask him questions afterwards. Ayanda did a great job of contextualizing his story as well--and gave some history about the political situation in Zimbabwe then and now. We asked that students respond to the presentation. Their reactions definitely reinforced our belief that this format is really working to open the eyes of young Quebecers:

"...I’ve learned what a refugee is. Until this day I didn’t even know what the word meant. This experience has opened my eyes to things that are happening around the world that I never even imagined. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for Ayanda to manage to find his way to the YMCA in the middle of the night, all by himself, in a new world. Thank you for this experience."

"I had no idea being a refugee was so difficult. I could never imagine not being able to see my family for 10 years, or not being able to meet my first nephew. This was definitely opened my eyes and I hope to get the chance to meet a refugee and welcome them as much as possible—and talk to them about their story---Ayanda you are truly inspiring and I wish you happiness in Canada. I also hope you reunite with your family sometime soon."

"I think this was an awesome experience that I will cherish very much. Tonight, I will tell Ayanda’s story to my family."

"This workshop informed us that refugees are people just like us who want a better future for themselves. Every story is interesting and by just looking at somebody you can never really know them  or the story they have to tell."