Powerful messages from empowering women were brought to the residents of the Waterford, an assisted living residence in Tsawwassen last Thursday to mark International Women’s Day.
Delta MP Carla Qualtrough was on hand to speak about her family and the impacts they had, in particular her mother, in overcoming her sight impairment to achieve her goals.
She also spoke about gender equality and how she feels empowered to set an example for the next generation of female leaders.
“I have a very strong, capable, lovely mother who taught me from an early age that I could be and do anything I want,” said Qualtrough. “I was very fortunate to have grown up in a time when women before me had blazed trails and I suspect all of you were trail blazers, so thank you for what you have done for generations after yours, including my own, because of the work you have done I get to sit in government in a cabinet that is 50 per cent women. Because 50 per cent of that table is women, better decisions are made because men and women look at things differently.”
Later Sandra MacFarlane recalled the story of her mother Bianca Polo, who is a six-year Waterford resident.
Polo has a fascinating history that starts out in Italy in 1927, where women’s rights meant she went to work chopping and carrying firewood when she was 13 — a replacement for young men who had gone to war. The lessons she learned in those years formed the backbone of the business she built from scratch in Vancouver in the 1960s.
By 1957 she and her husband had immigrated to Canada. She took a job working at a well-established Italian grocery store on Commercial Drive, but frustration with her inability to provide the type of service she felt her customers deserved led her to quit.
Her reputation for service was legendary in the Italian community and customers begged her to open her own store. Thus began the legacy of Bianca Maria’s Delicatessen, opened in 1963 and still operating today in the same spot on East Hastings Street.
The Wexford in Tsawwassen celebrated its second anniversary in style with residents dressed in purple, the colour of International Women’s Day, to mark the occasion. Qualtrough was there to congratulate residents and to also speak about International Women’s Day.
The Rotary Club of Tsawwassen marked International Women’s Day with a special panel of speakers at the Beach Grove Golf Club.
Delta leaders Leslie Abramson (Wintemute Boys and Girls Club, Delta Chamber of Commerce building), Nancy Macey (Delta Hospice) and Carlene Lewall (Delta Sport Development Centre) all spoke about capital projects they’ve worked on while Tsawwassen Rotary president Laura Dixon read out a statement from Renie D’Aquila (Lois E. Jackson Kinsmen Centre for Children).
The panelists discussed their motivations, obstacles faced along the way and gave advice for women in the future who might have a big dream for the community.
“Dream big, and never give up. Keep going,” said Lewall. “If you believe in your heart what you’re doing and you know it’s the right thing, then don’t give up.”
