And now for some good stuff....

Yesterday's post was a bit depressing, so today's seeks to swing the pendulum in the other direction and remind us why politics matters.

Last week, our colleague Reva attended Maytree's annual conference and sent the following note that I wanted to share with you.

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Yesterday I attended the Maytree Leadership conference which concluded with a 1o year celebration of their Scholarship Program. The program provides tuition and living assistance for refugees between 17-26 who are in post-secondary education and in Canada without family. The program takes 7-10 students a year, but receives many times more applicants. In addition to financial support, the group meets weekly, volunteers together and essentially become part of the Maytree community.

The stories of the graduates are incredibly powerful.

For instance, one of the students spent three months hiding in a hole during the Rwandan genocide, during which she lost her entire family. She battled alcoholism, came to Canada alone at 17, started working in a factory (she had previously been the daughter of a prominent businessman), signed up for a night class and from a teacher found out about the Maytree program. Today she is doing a PhD in Philosophy at Penn State.

But the real impact that Maytree achieved was the addition of the words "and protected persons" to the Canada Financial Assistance Act.

This amendment, passed to a standing ovation by the House in 2003, made it possible for refugees and landed immigrants to apply for student loans and receive an education. When MPs voted to include these three words they effectively changed the stories of thousands of new Canadians (versus the 8-10 people that Maytree could help directly each year).

During the debate on youth engaging outside of the political system, Alison has consistently touched on this theme - that ultimately great change can come from government since they can have an impact that exceeds what is possible in the third or non profit sector.

Hopefully our interviews will uncover stories like this, that show how the actions of our MPs directly impact (and change) real lives - something that is lost in the current discussions. Sort of an antidote to the negativism....