Rosalyn Yake has created the charity Starfish Foundation India from her winnings in an on-line video contest. This commitment is now an integral part of a very full life.

THE DINNER

7:30 p.m.

Farm in Oakwood

Pumpkin Soup, Venison Tenderloin, Asparagus, Tossed Salad, Apple Blossoms with Vanilla Ice Cream and Cappuccino.

THE DISCUSSION

Rosalyn Yake is recognizable from her picture on the Who Inspires U website where she poses with an enormous ten thousand dollar check.  Her victory was the result of an exhausting five-week campaign to have her video submission voted most popular.  She says, “The contest said you could do anything. It helped me that the other woman was doing something for profit and I was doing something not for profit. People wanted me to win so it really intensified the competition.”

Rosalyn identifies herself as competitive with a “driven Type A personality.”  Winning the contest was about more than the victory.  She is using her winnings to start Starfish Foundation India, a youth-led charity that provides scholarships to the students at the Olcott School which serves underprivileged youth.  She works on the charity every Monday, carefully parceling out her time so that she can balance her many interests.

She has chosen her commitments intentionally.  She is currently working on a thesis proposal for a Masters in Aboriginal Studies. Her interest is in the role of aboriginal newspapers with respect to the transparency and accountability of band councils. She is eager to travel to Sandy Lake in March for her first real experience on a reserve.

Of her travels, she says, “there are so many places to explore in Canada and globally, it’s hard to make your priorities. I wanted to do something that would help me better the country that I come from. I’ve always been interested in international development, but we need to focus more on development in our own borders.”

The first time that Rosalyn applied for her Masters, she was turned down because she lacked the required number of political science courses. She knows now that, “no matter how hard you plan, things change. Opportunities arise.”

Rosalyn has attended the International Gold Event for Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award winners.  She spent 5 weeks in Hong Kong and China working on “how to improve the award’s ability to have an impact on global issues. One of the issues was poverty.”  When she reconnected via computer with one of the delegates from India, she was invited to stay with his family.

The “fisherman community” she stayed in is the location of the Olcott School.  This school was created to provide education for the “children of the fifth caste who were seen as too dirty to attend school.”  It continues to operate because “there is still that stratification of poverty. The kids can’t afford to go to school so it’s free.”

Although Rosalyn has traveled a lot she describes this trip as  “the most culturally intense experience of [her] life” as a result of staying with the delegate’s family.  She says, “it gave me a lot of insight into being a female in another country.  I couldn’t do a lot of what I like to do. It’s not to say they’re doing it backwards or have it wrong.”

Rosalyn had to be aware of everything, from what she wore to when she was able to enter religious spaces.  “The family was strictly Hindu. Every other night and every weekend we’d go to temples to pray. They worship a lot of animals.  It is very symbolic.”

Rosalyn can admit that she “was keen at first, but that it became challenging.”  She says, “I enjoyed the experience for what it was. There were challenges, but the benefits outweigh the negatives.”

Rosalyn is quick to avoid pity.  She says, “what saddens me is the poverty of opportunity. I don’t feel like I’m changing their lives or the entire community, I just help one person to break through the cycle of poverty.”

Through her charity, an annual scholarship is available so that each year one student from the Olcott School can continue with post-secondary education. She says, “Our organization is youth led. Age is something we are proud of. We take a simple step at a time. We are trying to prove that young people can do what they set out to do.” Each board member will fundraise $350 this year so that they can replenish and build the fund.

Of the Duke of Edinburgh award that “empowered [her] to take a leadership role,” Rosalyn acknowledges that “it’s geared to a lot of private schools but it’s really done a lot to spread its wings in terms of at-risk youth.” While she provides the program at Havergal College, a private girls’ school, the program is also available free of charge in many developing countries.   She says, “we’re providing them with an example of how to address poverty.  This is an answer to the question of how can we improve the award.”

Rosalyn recognizes her own growth and the people around her are extremely proud. She explains, “before I was doing volunteer work to get experience for my resume. Now it’s become a part of my style of life. I find it to be a very humbling experience.”

STILL DIGESTING

Rosalyn’s friends arrived after dinner to make sure that I did her justice.  These friends were also students I taught almost ten years ago and have not had the opportunity to see since. They were clearly proud of Rosalyn and have embraced her as worthy of her boyfriend Matt, their friend and our host.

The students that I used to teach, and continue to learn from, are now a journalist and a firefighter respectively.  They have just purchased homes with the strong, dynamic women that they adore.  They are good people that make meaningful contributions to the people around them. The journalist sang at his grandmother’s funeral earlier that day and his friends around the table were in attendance to support him.

I am proud to know all of them and am privileged to have had the opportunity to see the people they have become.  Rosalyn definitely belongs among them and I hope I will be invited back soon.