Kwantlen's CURA Participants Honoured for Community Activism
The passion of community leaders Charan Gill and Balwant Sanghera, who are integral to Kwantlen's Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) projects, is breeding positive changes on Canada's home front, announced Canadian Immigrant magazine in the recent "Top 25 Immigrants of 2010" awards.
The awards, which are the first in a new annual campaign by the magazine, recognized 25 immigrants making a positive difference in Canada. The winners were selected through a process of community nomination, editorial short-listing and online voting.
Gill, founder and chief executive officer of CURA's community partner Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS), and Sanghera, chair of CURA's community partner South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence (SACCAYV), share CURA's dedication to the prevention of youth violence.
Gill committed the last 25 years to fighting for human rights and improved quality of life for the poor, disadvantaged and immigrants through his work with PICS, a non-profit social justice society and other local organizations. Among his other contributions are his roles as co-founder of the Canadian Farmworkers Union and president of the B.C. Organization to Fight Racism.
His work with CURA includes connecting new immigrants with researchers, providing space for focus groups to meet in and introducing CURA's goals to a wider audience.
Gill's dedication to improving the community has been previously recognized with the Order of B.C. Award and the B.C. Human Rights Award by MOSAIC, among others.
Sanghera, too, thrives on his passions for the prevention of youth violence and multiculturalism advocacy. He has brought together over 15 community agencies, including Sikh Temples, under the SACCAYV to address the challenge of youth violence in the community.
As a retired teacher and school psychologist, he spent many years working with youth in B.C. He later founded the Maples Adolescent Centre, a program that serves adolescents with mental health and behavioural problems, and the Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society, a society that provides new immigrants with language, settlement and advocacy programs.
Sanghera's tireless devotion to the prevention of youth violence and multiculturalism advocacy has been previously acknowledged with numerous other awards, including the Order of B.C. and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.
To read Canadian Immigrants' original announcements about the award winners, please visit the following links: for Charan Gill, click here, or for Balwant Sanghera, click here.
Editors: Sandy Alfonso, Sandra Lenore Gutierrez & Meiko Assoon. Design: William Szilveszter