NNEC Yellow Ribbon Walk For Life May 2 in Sioux Lookout celebrating First Nation resiliency
Eva Olsson guest speaker at yellow ribbon walk
Tim Brody - ASSOCIATE EDITOR - April 25, 2012
HOLOCAUST survivor Eva Olsson is bringing her message of peace and tolerance to Sioux Lookout.
Olsson will speak at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay on April 30, Pelican Falls First Nations High School May 1 and Sacred Heart Church on May 3.
On May 2 Olsson will be the guest speaker at the Seventh Annual Yellow Ribbon Walk for Life presented by Northern Nishnawbe Education Council (NNEC).
Participants in the walk will meet at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Royal Canadian Legion and begin the walk to Queen Elizabeth District High School at 11 a.m.
Nancy Roy, who was instrumental in having Olsson visit, shared, “I traveled to Dryden last year to hear her speak. It was such a moving speech that I was saddened to think that she was so close but was not able to come for the kids in the schools to hear her. They need to hear a bit about the war and the holocaust and what happened.”
She continued, “I phoned her and asked her if she would like to come to Sioux Lookout and she said of course I will… This is her passion and she has a story that she wants to tell.
What really moved me was seeing the kids after hearing her speech go up and hug her and cry and that’s what really hit me… I phoned Steve Poling at the high school and Norma Kejick and Norma was really excited because she didn’t have a guest speaker for her yellow ribbon walk and said it would fit into her plans so well.”
Roy encourages community members to come out to hear Olsson speak. “You’ll never forget her. You’ll never forget Eva Olsson… We really realize how lucky we are and what a great country we live in and what a horrible thing she went through.”
Roy will be setting up a special Eva Olsson section in her store.
Northern Nishnawbe Education Council Executive Director Norma Kejick said, “When Nancy told me a little bit about Eva’s story I thought it would be perfect for our students… Every year I’m always trying to bring in someone that has a strong message for our students. The reason I started yellow ribbon is that my nephew had committed suicide and he was one of five students that year from NNEC and because our students are on a condensed school year and go home in May I always want our message to be the last one they hear so that when they go home they know that there are other people that care about them and are thinking about them. I’m always looking for a speaker that will give them that message.”
Queen Elizabeth District High School Principal Steve Poling commented, “We’re thrilled that she is coming. The theme of what she talks about and the whole concept of working toward bringing people together… The difficulties we all face in our lives and learning to be resilient and how is it that somebody having experienced one of the most horrible things that has ever happened can come and share with us about living a great life and how to be resilient and bounce back from difficulty because it’s something that all of us will face in our lives and certainly something that a lot of the students will find is that resiliency is a critical skill for success in the future… It was our honour to be part of making her visit happen.”
According to an excerpt from her website, www.evaolsson.ca, “For over a decade, Eva has spoken to over one million people in schools, service clubs, prisons, youth detention centres and churches, on armed forces bases, at police force conferences at Queen’s Park and the United Nations. Increasingly, the focus of her message is bullying and the importance of not being a bystander to injustice. She uses her life experiences, primarily in the Holocaust, to illustrate the power of hate and the importance of standing up against forces of racism, bigotry and intolerance. Her message resonates with a wide variety of audiences.”
Olsson was born in 1924 in Hungary. In May of 1944 she and her family were taken by boxcar to Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Holocaust. Eva and her sister survived the Holocaust.
Eva was awarded an honouary doctorate by Nipissing University in 2005 and in 2008 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario.