Caring with Cards

By: Danielle Kolton and Amelia Smandych

Amelia Smandych, a S4 student at St. Mary’s Academy, became aware of the struggles refugees face when she participated in a refugee simulation, “In Exile for Awhile” in May 2005. For her the experience was, “the most physically, mentally, and emotionally strenuous day of [her] life!” Nevertheless, she knew that what she experienced was but a fraction of the horrors that refugees endure daily.

Motivated by the experience, Amelia was determined to find a way to improve the lives of refugees in her community. She created a series of portraits of refugee women and children from various war-affected areas. The strong portrayal of emotion within each face provides a glimpse into the lives of some of the most abused yet courageous people. From the portraits, she designed eight cards, each with a different portrait on the front and a relevant inspirational quotation on the inside. Her plan was to sell the cards within the school and community as well as to sell the original artwork. In order to make the card sales more profitable, Amelia approached local businesses in search of support. A printing company offered to print the first 400 cards free of charge and provide a 10% discount thereafter, and a local framer also framed three of the original portraits which were sold at the Cocktails on the Crescent Art Auction.

To date, the project has been very successful with over $2000 raised and donated to Welcome Place and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM), two organizations that help refugee newcomers resettle and readjust to Canadian society. Amelia is continuing to take orders for cards within the school and community and has plans to expand the project to include contributions to the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan and the Immigrant Women’s Counseling Services. She has also become involved in helping organize a conference on refugee issues in place of the Exile that will not be held due to lack of funding.