On March 23rd, students at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON will host Laurier’s annual Lend Your Leg Day to raise awareness about the continuing dangers posed by landmines and unexplored remnants of war throughout many regions of the world.
The day will be full of events ranging from sign making, to booths on understanding mines, interactive games to raise awareness regarding the severity of mines, a march/rally around the university area as well as a conference style segment with speakers and a Q&A session.
Last year the team raised a substantial amount of money for landmine removal and victim rehabilitation, and just missed the 1000 signature mark to take a petition to parliament. This year, with a guaranteed increase in numbers and experience, we hope to surpass our goals and add to the Laurier LYL foundations for next year.
– Sumaiya Moosa, Student Organizer
The event is open to the public. Please see the below schedule and poster for more information:
Here is the schedule we have planned out in more detail:
Activities in the Concourse @ 9:30am-3:00pm
– Bake sale & Easter basket raffle
– Sign making station for rally
– Games to raise awareness and win cool prizes!
BBQ & DJ in the Quad
12:00PM -3:00PM
Guest Speakers in the Turret
Joe Van Troost @ 10:00 AM
– Representative from Mines Action Canada, an international organization for mine action
– Manager of a Ten Thousand Villages, a store for handmade and fair trade items
Dr. Branka Marijan @ 11:00 AM
– Born and raised in Bosnia; offers a personal familiarity with landmines
– PhD student at Basille School of International Affairs
– Program Officer at Project Ploughshares, a Canadian organization for non-violent conflict resolution
Landmine Boys @ 3:15 PM
– a start-up from the University of Waterloo and St. Paul’s Greenhouse
– Working on developing a mechanical diffusion devise for demining without a human operator