"It was a powerful day," said Theology Chair and Professor Lisa Powell, PhD, of the 18th Annual Ambrose Women for Social Justice Conference held at St. Ambrose University Rogalski Center on March 31.
Following the theme Challenging Boundaries; Building Community, the conference was an impactful and lively day filled with local community and political leaders, panel discussions, and a keynote address by Ann McGlynn, founder of Tapestry Farms, a non-profit urban farm system investing in refugees to the Quad Cities.
"The whole conference reflected the spirit of this year's SAU theme of Re/building Community," said Powell. "The panels portrayed the ways in which leaders in politics, business, and social justice are building and strengthening community in the Quad Cities. Ann's speech was especially fitting with her message of how the Quad Cities can create a ‘long welcome' for refugee families."
Ann's address began as the crowd cheered to celebrate a refugee mom who was at that very moment receiving her citizenship in Des Moines. Ann then spoke of a bitterly cold winter morning on the west side of Moline, where Afghanistan refugees gathered at the school bus stop with their children, greeting one another in their native languages of Dari or Pashto. She spoke of one brave youth by the name Parnian, a young girl heading off to Moline High school as the only Afghan in the entire school.
Merely 8 months before, these same families led a normal life in their own homes and schools, some working at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, others for the U.N in northern Afghanistan - until the Taliban began its takeover and they had to flee. That is where Tapestry Farms and partnerships with Humble Dwellings and World Relief Quad Cities came in with their tireless staff and network of volunteers to help these families rebuild their lives in the Quad City community.
The conference also was rousing for St. Ambrose students such as Samantha Sancen, a double-major in Political Science and Theology, a senator in the SGA, and member of Model UN.
"I attended the Women in Politics panel. These amazing women (including Latina women like myself) gave their perspectives and shared their journey as a woman in leadership and in office. My journey as a leader in all aspects has led me to doubt my abilities but these women reminded me that I am qualified!" Sancen said.
Other panel discussions covered topics ranging from Women in Social Justice, Women in Male-Dominated Fields, and Gender Activism.
Ann's compelling refugee story ended on a high note as she noted a drive past that same bus stop on an idyllic spring morning. She waved at a smiling Parnian who was gathered with two other more recent teen refugees as she drove by. They "had created a community of care and support at a bus stop in the west end of Moline."
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