The Shoe Project announces the creation of IN THEIR SHOES, its fund to support and empower Afghan women on their arrival in Canada. Professional women’s livelihoods, families and lives are in danger under Taliban rule. The fund will allow The Shoe Project to offer trauma counselling, one-on-one peer mentoring, and ESL preparation, in addition to its well-recognized writing workshops and performances.
“What these women have been through has been unimaginable,” says TSP alumna and fund spokesperson, Sayara Sadri. “They have left behind their whole life, hopes, aspirations and dreams. They will need support to create their new life in Canada. In the ten years since its creation, The Shoe Project has been life-changing for immigrant and refugee women from over twenty-five countries. I am one of them, having escaped from Afghanistan myself in 2008.” (Click HERE to watch Sayara talking about it.)
“For those who have embarked on the dangerous journey to a new life in a new country, shoes are a powerful metaphor,” says Katherine Govier, novelist, founder and Board Chair of The Shoe Project. “Our alumnae have made that journey, whether from Syria, Eritrea, South Sudan or Russia. They have been in those shoes and now they are experienced and eager to help newcomers.”
The Shoe Project’s next ten years begin with an expansion to 8 Canadian cities and leadership by alumnae. The Afghan Fund will allow Afghan women to attend all its workshops, coaching sessions and performances with the added support they need. | 
