Dr. Lloyd Axworthy at a celebration of the opening of the Bhanohar Education Centre
The University of Winnipeg has established stronger ties to India with the opening of learning centre for young women and partnerships with colleges and universities in the Punjab region.
UWinnipeg President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy attended a celebration of the opening of the Bhanohar Education Centre, an innovative University of Winnipeg learning centre for women in Bhanohar Village and Cliff Penner, President, Ventura Homes, the major financial sponsor of this initiative joined him for the centre’s celebrations.
“The opening of the Bhanohar Education Centre is a tangible example of the University’s commitment to accessible education and a secured investment in community learning by creating partnerships between Canada and India to promote women’s learning opportunities in the rural region of the Punjab” explained Axworthy. “This Centre will transform lives through education. India has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and we want these communities like Bhanohar to have the tools and education to participate and contribute to the future of their country.”
Axworthy added that UWinnipeg is committed to forging stronger ties to India and the South Asian community in Manitoba by encouraging more students to pursue post-secondary education and to recruit new students to the University.
During his visit, Axworthy also spoke at both the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi and the University of the Panjab in Chandigarh on the topics of education and international responsibility and visited several other locations including Seva Mandir, Action Research and Training in Health (ARTH), Zenana Maternity Hospital.
Bhanohar Education Centre
This learning centre consists of a library, a computer room and a gymnasium. The centre will be available to all of the women living in the village as well as to those in the surrounding villages. This educational centre will give an opportunity of learning to young women for furthering their skills in reading and writing and give access to the world’s current affairs, and provide the same academic advantage as being connected to the world wide web, which some take for granted in today’s world. This Centre was made possible thanks to a generous donation by Ventura Custom Homes Ltd. of $70,000.
