The Village Bloggurls program is a weekly girls' leadership, media literacy and production program in Lotherton Village and Westminster- Branson. The core program provides girls in two communities with creative opportunities to address issues including systemic violence, representation of women in the media, and societal expectations. Activities like writing a blog, producing a zine, and social media posts provide a platform for expression, reflection, connection, and support.

The Bloggurls were recipients of the 2014 Landsberg Community Award and are current grantees of the Canadian Women’s Foundation through North York Community House – they’ve received a grant of $160,000 over 4 years (2016-2020).

The following post is from a zine the group produced called Re-Imagining: The Future. In the zine the girls tackle some tough questions, including “What does a world without street harassment look like?” and “How can we address mental health in schools?” You can read more of their work on their website.

I was 11 years old when I lost my self-esteem.

I had just moved to Canada from Jamaica. Struggling with culture shock and a new school – not to mention the uncertainty of pre-teen girlhood – I desperately needed a mentor, a strong role model who believed in me. Instead, my teacher at the time decided that I was neither bright, nor capable. 

The damage to my self-esteem from that judgment has taken a lifetime to overcome – to remember who I am, and what I can do.

Yet I’m thankful for that experience because it ignited a life-long passion for social justice and advocating for the rights of women and girls.

As a grade 12 student, I can clearly remember the stress of having to decide where I was going to apply to university. Would I apply to schools close to home, or to schools far away? Maybe even outside of Canada? It was a busy time, but one area in which I didn’t have any stress was what major I was going to apply for. I knew very clearly that I was going to study engineering.

You see, I had been told since I was young that I’m good at math and science, and therefore, I should go into a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) related field. I took great pride in the fact that I planned to study engineering. However, there was a negative side to this STEM encouragement. The praise for my early success with math and science courses often went so far as to mock those who excelled in English, sociology, or art.