Shamim is a student of 18 years old who frequently visits the Eva Ruf Resource Center (ERRC). She has been using the center as a quiet place to study and read for the last four years. Shamim exclaimed to me “By the time I leave this place, I really know that I have done something for myself”, specifically in terms of her education. With final A Level exams approaching in her last senior year, she likes to escape to the center’s backyard to focus on her studies.
Shamim says she is grateful for the center because before it existed she had no access to books and mostly stayed at home doing housework. She has even encouraged many friends and family to visit, including her younger sister who is in her first year of primary school. For her sister, the center provides a place where reading can be fun and friends can be made. Shamim has also made new friends at the center, including the staff, other students and foreign visitors. In the future, Shamim hopes to make more use of the extra-curricular activities put on by the ERRC – as soon as she has a moment away from studying!
Shamim’s final comments to me were about how grateful she is that the center exists, the only problem being that it’s so great that during the holidays it’s almost impossible to find a seat!
Thanks for reading – More soon!
Bree
PS. If you’re in Kelowna, don’t forget to join us for our golf tournament on June 23rd! (Read below for more details!)