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Dore hopes to return to Africa

When Angela Dore left Botswana earlier this month, she knew it wouldn’t be the last time her feet touched African soil.
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Angela Dore eats a traditional meal with friends in Botswana.

When Angela Dore left Botswana earlier this month, she knew it wouldn’t be the last time her feet touched African soil.

The 22-year-old former Red Deer resident and fourth year University of Ottawa student spent three months in the south African country as part of an international internship through Students Without Borders.

For three months, Dore worked in the Gender Unit in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) office, an organization promoting sustainability, equity, economic growth and socioeconomic development.

Dore said the work was rewarding, the people were warm and the atmosphere was hopeful.

“Many Canadians that volunteer in Botswana end up staying and I can see why,” said Dore through an email. “I hope to find myself back there sometime soon.”

Near the end of her term, she attended a United Nations Steering Committee Meeting on the Africa UNITE Campaign to End Gender Based Violence in Ethiopia. She prepared a SADC presentation about what the organization was doing to help with this African-wide campaign.

Dore said women continue to be seen as the subordinates to men in many societies and groups.

“Gender-based violence is an issue that is urgent, as women continue to suffer, especially in post-conflict areas such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” she said.

While her time was short in the country, Dore hopes she has changed lives.

“Initially I was looking for something to do outside of the normal co-op routine,” she said. “I jumped at the opportunity to work for an organization involved in women’s rights and hopefully make a difference.”

This was Dore’s second time in Africa. In 2006, she was in Mozambique for three months with Canada World Youth. She said this was a life-changing experience that piqued her continued interest in working in the continent.

“I absolutely do feel that other people my age should do this type of work,” said Dore. “One weekend in Botswana we heard there was an opportunity to volunteer with an organization called Books for Africa.”

Dore said thousands of books arrived from the United States. Volunteers were needed to pack them into boxes so organizations could pick them up. Although it was a such a small act of putting the books into boxes, Dore said, it is a link in the chain that is necessary to get the books to children and help them learn to read.

“Finding a book you read as a child and putting it in a box knowing that someone else will enjoy it is very rewarding,” she said.

Dore is in her final semester of Conflict Studies and Human Rights at the University of Ottawa.

She graduates in January.

crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com