WOMEN ENCOURAGING EMPOWERMENT (WEE)
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WEE NEWSLETTER

7/31/2017

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WEE is excited to share its 2017 newsletter and amazing news throughout the year with you.
Thank you for your support and help. WEE looks forward to an exciting 2017/2018 with you once again. We would be nothing without the hard work and support of our staff, Board members, funders, members, community, partners and well-wishers. 
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Shopping Rights, Fraud Prevention, Identity Theft  Workshops

7/25/2017

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Our members had the opportunity to learn about Shopping Rights, Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention. Robin Putnam, the Research and Special Projects Manager from the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, presented information about expressed & implied warranties, return policies, defective merchandise, pricing discrepancies, and shopping online, through the mail or television. She also talked about how to spot and avoid scams, and how to prevent identity theft. 
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Ramadan Iftar Dinner

6/20/2017

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Wee hosted an Iftar Dinner to celebrate Ramadan. Thank you everyone who joined us last night to share a good time in our Iftar Dinner. We had an amazing time with awesome conversations and sharing delicious dishes! Also, special thanks to Casa Blanca for donating delicious pastries to us. We appreciate it.
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CSIO Immigrant Movement Dialogue

6/14/2017

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Wee participated in a dialogue among immigrant leaders and organizers about how to build a more unified immigrant movement for social change organized by CSIO. It was an incredible opportunity to come together and share our ideas on how we can begin the important process of building a more unified strategy across immigrant communities for collective resistance and social change.
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Parent Leadership Training

6/13/2017

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This week in our Parent Leadership Training, we discussed the topic of thriving with diversity in the group process. We had awesome activities and conversations that helped us understand how group works and how leadership emerges, as well as understanding the complexity of, and comfort level with addressing deep, difficult or controversial topics.
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The Safe Communities Act

6/9/2017

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WEE attended one of the historic legislation hearings in MA. The public hearing on the Safe Communities Act, which took place on June 9th. This is what Democracy looks like. Let's keep fighting for the rights of immigrants.
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Episcopal City Mission Annual Celebration

6/6/2017

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WEE was honored to participate in an evening of sharing, eating and action with the Episcopal City Mission community as a grantee last evening. It was a powerful evening! Thank you to the Burgess Urnan Fund for supporting our efforts to empower, educate and advance immigrant and refugee women and their families.
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Turkish Community Iftar Dinner

6/4/2017

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WEE had such a great honor to be part of the Turkish Community at the 06/04 Sunday Iftar Dinner. It was such an humbling moment and a lot of sharing. Thank you to the Turkish Community for putting together a great community dinner and including WEE to be part of this celebration. 
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Moroccan Cuisine

4/21/2017

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PictureCouscous
Moroccan cuisine is a mix of Mediterranean, Arabic, Andalusian and Berber cuisine with some influence of European cuisine. The reason for such a big food fusion is Morocco’s interactions and exchanges with other cultures and nations over the centuries.
 
Moderate and subtropical climate, cooled by breezes off the Atlantic and Mediterranean, made Morocco big producer of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables. Meat that is used in cooking includes beef, goat, lamb, chicken and seafood. The most important part of Moroccan cooking is flavoring. Local people use spices extensively in everyday food preparation and common spices include cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, ginger, paprika, coriander, saffron, cloves, anise etc. Herbs used for flavoring include mint, parsley, coriander, marjoram, sage etc. Morocco is also the biggest producer of argan oil,  plant oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree that is endemic to Morocco. In Morocco, argan oil is used to dip bread in at breakfast or to drizzle on couscous or pasta. It is also used for cosmetic purposes.
 
A typical lunch starts with the hot or cold salad, followed by tagine or Dwaz. Every meal includes bread. Next course contains meat like lamb or chicken, and on Fridays people serve couscous topped with vegetables or meat. Meal is finished with a cup of fresh mint tea.
 
 
Here are few recipes that nice Moroccan women from WEE shared with us.

​Couscous
 
Couscous is traditional Moroccan staple food and local people eat couscous usually on Fridays.
                                        
                                       
 
Ingredients ( For 6 people):
 
Spices:
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 pepper
2 teaspoon ginger
1 pinch saffron
2 teaspoons salt
 
Stew:
2 lbs lamb or 2 lbs chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 cups water
1 cup tomato sauce
2 carrots, quartered
1 zucchini, quartered
1 yellow squash, quartered
1 (16 oz) can chickpeas
½ cabbage, quartered
 


​Couscous:
2 cups dry couscous
3 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken base
¼ cup butter
 
 
 
Harira soup
 
This soup is traditional dish of the Mahreb region in Morocco. It is served mostly during the Ramadan but it can be prepared during the year too.
 
  
Ingredients (For 8 people):
 
½ cup lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained, reserve tomato liquid
2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ cup orzo pasta
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon tomato paste
 
 
 
Moroccan Sesame Spice Cookies (Chabakia)
 
Chabakia is one of the most popular desserts in Morocco that is traditionally served during the month of Ramadan.
 
Ingredients ( for 18-24 pastries):

1 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water plus 2 tablespoons (at about ~110°F)
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (can substitute extra virgin olive oil)
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 medium egg

Glaze and garnish:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 inch knob ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
vegetable oil for frying
 
 
       بالصحة
     (Enjoy!)
 
 
Maja N., Hayat Z.      

 


Chabakia
Harira
Moroccan Mint tea
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The Power Of Diversity

8/31/2016

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Picture
        The article Diversity Makes You Brighter by Sheen S. Levine and David Stark outlines how society can greatly benefit from diversity. In the article the authors describe that new scientific research concludes that groups that are diverse often have better critical thinking skills. They conducted a series of  experiments in which two groups competed to find accurate answers to the problems they were given. One group was diverse, and the other was homogeneous. They found that the diverse group's answers were 58% more accurate.
         The authors outline that the reason behind these findings is that within a diverse group the individuals were more likely to disagree, and therefore discuss thoughtfully together to come up with an answer. The difference in point of views forced those within the diverse group to deliberate critically. In addition, those within a homogeneous group tended to mindlessly copy others with out questioning the answers. The authors conclude that most environments, especially classroom settings, would greatly benefit from diversity as it helps prompt critical thinking.

Read more about this topic at:
​http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/opinion/diversity-makes-you-brighter.html?_r=0
Image from:
http://www.slu.edu/department-of-psychology-home/diversity-and-inclusion
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