Dr. Ruth Mathieson had the pleasure of introducing G.E.M. Munro. The mission of G.E.M. and his wife Dr. Tanyss was to help the vulnerable and oppressed. They started in the remote northern Indigenous communities in B.C. and then in 2005 they packed up their four children and moved to the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh to start a school for young mothers. Both G.E.M. and Tanyss are recipients of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals for their humanitarian work. G.E.M.'s mother christened him George Edward Mitford so she could call him Gem, very fitting. A bestselling author and artist and a sought after speaker.
G.E.M. Munro was very pleased to visit, once again, this luncheon that included a number of service clubs and volunteers, all very essential to the existence of the Amarok Society. And it all started with the Rotary Club of Belleville. Originally, G.E.M. and his wife Dr. Tanyss Munro were asked to help improve the school system in Bangladesh that they quickly identified as the worst school system they had taken on. Bangladesh was the poorest city in the world which posed a different problem. The area was a squalor of violence and misery, teeming with children who had no opportunity for education, a problem not being addressed by anyone. G.E.M. and Tanyss decided to try, but realized building schools was not the answer as it would not diminish the number of children getting educated. They needed to find a sustainable effort and that's when they started to teach mothers to become teachers. The young mothers then taught 5 children to read and write and the Amarok Society was born. They met with criticism as international agencies felt the effort would not work, that women could never learn to teach. That argument has not been heard now after 20 years of proving them wrong and 33 schools later. G.E.M. is continually stunned by what the mothers have accomplished through their internal strength and courage. G.E.M. shared a touching story of one young mother who he first met when she was begging outside a grocery story with her young child, she was a mother at 11 with 3 children. This young woman was reluctant to be taught and to teach, but after several attempts, G.E.M. achieved his mission of turning learning into love. The more you give away, the more you have.
Sharon McConnell, Chair of the Literacy Committee thanked G.E.M. for sharing such an impactful message. Hats off to both G.E.M. and Tanyss in bringing hope and education to the very poor parts of the world. The Rotary Club of Belleville is very proud to be a partner in supporting the Amarok Society.