Image of Lena Waithe. Photo by Chelsea Lauren/REX/Shutterstock.
By Tayvie Van Eeuwen
@tayvieeee
“The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” -Harriet Ann Jacobs
Add some sunshine to your life with the latest roundup of good news.
Local
A Birthday gift worth celebrating: local woman raises $5.2k for kenyan girl’s education
An educated girl is an empowered girl.
Meet Alyssah-Jasmine Merani, a local Coquitlam native who has effectively changed the lives of two Kenyan girls in Mombasa. After teaching Selina and Ester Peters in 2018, Merani set out to advocate for their educational continuation.
The family was struggling to pay for school tuition in the wake of the father’s abandonment. The Peters mother, Aisha, currently works as both a cook and cleaner to support her children. Currently, her daughters are in grades one and three, hoping to continue on to secondary school– a feat approximately 50% of Kenyan’s complete due to socioeconomic barriers.
In January of 2020, Merani launched a GoFundMe page to support the Peters family in place of regular birthday gifts. At the time of this publication, the fundraising campaign has exceeded Merani’s goal of $5,000.
As Merani wrote on the GoFundMe,
Every child matters, and Selina and Ester deserve to be educated within this school and by these teachers, as I believe strongly that they will continue to strive. Thanks to [KenCada International Academy], I was able to live my dream of teaching students in a developing country. I was able to form the most beautiful bonds and relationships with extremely loving and kind children who were always so eager to learn, including Selina and Ester.
Girls helping girls at its finest. 💖
If you would like to donate towards Selina and Ester’s education, please click here.
Nationwide
Teck Resources Abandons largest canadian open-mine proposal
First and foremost, we must thank the Indigenous peoples of Canada for fighting this project and effectively winning.
Teck Resources, a large proponent of Alberta’s oil sands industry, has recently announced the abandonment of the largest open-mine proposal to ever hit Canadian soil. Thankfully, they have withdrawn their application before it could even reach federal approval.
The decision comes with significant surprise from both supporter and land-defender positions. The announcement comes after recent opposition from Indigenous communities and allies of the Teck project and the TransMountain Pipeline project in Wet’suet’en territory.
The mine’s dismissal signifies a $1.1 billion loss for the Teck Resources company, considering that the project was estimated to be worth $20 billion upon completion.
President Don Lindsey addressed the decision in a statement, saying
Frontier has surfaced a broader debate over climate change and Canada’s role in addressing it. It is our hope that withdrawing from the process will allow Canadians to shift to a larger and more positive discussion about the path forward. Ultimately, that should take place without a looming regulatory deadline.
While the statement also included feelings of “disappointment,” the withdrawal has largely been met with praise.
Indigenous climate activist Melina Laboucan-Massimo exclaimed on her Instagram, “After almost 15 years of organizing to stop tar sands expansion, news like this gives me hope in the fight for climate justice.”
Now, for Wet’suet’en justice. ✊🏼
Worldwide
2020 super bowl donates upwards of 30,000 pounds of food
I don’t know about you, but I get fearful of the waste that results from huge events like the Super Bowl. Luckily, I can put my mind at ease this time.
The largest sport event of the year has set a wonderful example to the rest of the sporting world: donating all uneaten food to local charities.
Following the 2020 Super Bowl championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49er’s, over 30,000 pounds of produce, prepared meals, and ingredients were donated to local charities. The initiative was a collaborative effort between Centerplate, NFL Green, and Connecticut-based Food Rescue US.
The result? An accumulative amount equal to feeding 20,000 people. 👏🏼
“We know food insecurity impacts one in seven people in the state of Florida,” Carol Shattuck, CEO of Food Rescue US, explained to the Good News Network. “Through our work with Centerplate and NFL Green, we can make sure excess food from Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Beach Convention Center helps to feed individuals and families throughout Miami, while also not contributing to the growing food waste crisis in the U.S.”
The lucky charity partners included five Miami based organizations: Broward Outreach Center, Broward Partnership for the Homeless, Miami Rescue Mission, Lotus House Shelter, and Camillus House.
The ‘rescue mission’ began the day after the Super Bowl and continued for another two. In total, the operation required eight trucks, 37 volunteers, and dozens of hours.
As Ellen Bowen, the director of Food Rescue US-Miami told ESPN, “It’s a full volunteer job. We just want to help people in need. It’s amazing to see how much food there is that otherwise would have been thrown in the trash that can now feed so many people.”
Disney showcases first openly gay character in ‘Onward’
Hello LGTBQ+ representation! 🏳️🌈
Let’s be honest, we all know there have been some closeted LGBTQ+ characters in past Disney movies (ahem, Lefou from ‘Beauty and the Beast’). However, Disney’s latest film is creating space for proud LGBTQ+ characters in the form of Officer Specter, a lesbian cyclops.
Officer Specter is a supporting character who is seen in ‘Onward’ at approximately the half-way mark. In the scene, Specter states her relationship status, exclaiming her “girlfriend’s daughter is pulling her hair out.”
Fortunately, Officer Specter is voiced by LGTBQ+ activist and actress, Lena Waithe. (Big heart eyed emojis from me.) The actress is commonly known for her work on Master of None and ‘Queen & Slim’.
Director Dan Scanlon spoke about the character, saying “[The film] is a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.”
While Officer Specter is on screen for a short amount of time, we are happy to see that her inclusion was natural for Disney. Here’s to hoping for LGBTQ+ protagonists in the future!
Sydney Baboon gets scheduled for a vasectomy- so naturally, he ran away with two females
Another story I’d never thought I’d report on, but HERE WE ARE.
Say hello to a polyamorous baboon trio from the Sydney Zoo. On February 25, a 15-year-old male baboon was scheduled and transported to a local hospital for a vasectomy. That is, until he ran away with his two wives.
The 15-year-old’s two female partners were sent with him to keep him calm before the procedure. Seems like that didn’t go quite as planned!
Soon after being placed in holding, the trio escaped and ran amok on Sydney’s streets– quite effectively stunning pedestrians for more than an hour.
After a 90-minute standoff, police and animal handlers managed to capture the baboons. However, the tweets, videos, and comments about the incident were well-worth the wait.
Take a peek at a video of the red-butt buggers here.
Here’s some of my personal favourite tweets. 👇🏼
Happy Suggestions
Music
CHELSEA CUTLER
Check out her latest album How to Be Human for bright beats, self-written songs, and love-story nostalgia for anyone who listens.
“Lucky” featuring Alexander 23
“I Was In Heaven”
JULIA MICHAELS
A song about the first love you’ll never forget.
“17”
ALAYNA
I have this one on repeat. Her voice is angelic.
“Glowing”
SURFACES
A musical pep talk about being your best self.
“Sunday Best”
PUBLIC
The perfect sunny day sing along.
“Make You Mine”
Videos
SELF LOVE AND FORGIVENESS
One of Instagram’s most beloved writers joins body positive model Ashley Graham to discuss self love.
Cleo Safe on Self Love and Forgiveness
YOGA
A quick 20 minute flow to set your day up for success.
20 Minute Everyday Vinyasa Flow Yoga Class with Ally Maz
CONNECTING TO FEMININE NATURE
An oldie, but a goodie. This is an empowering Ted Talk about the beauty of being an emotional creature.
Embrace Your Inner Girl by Eve Ensler
Instagram accounts
MEGAN JAYNE CRABBE
@bodyposipanda
Body positivity, feminism, and beyond from a UK influencer who I ADORE.
HELLO GIGGLES
@hellogiggles
A womxn focused account with all things self care, zodiac, pop culture, and beauty.
TA’KAIYA SKODEN STOODIS BLANEY
@takaiya.blaney
A young Salish woman who is fighting for Indigenous rights across Canada. A powerhouse who you should definitely follow.
Tayvie is a Métis/Anihšināpē and Irish/Scottish student and writer. Her circle is small, but her joy is large. She splits her time between over-thinking and visiting Disneyland. Read her articles to take a peek inside the world of mental illness and happy news, because it’s all about balance, right?
