The women had a powerful and beautiful conclusion to their pre-assembly on August 1st by taking a trip to Ottawa. Never mind the fact that this city is the site of Canada's Parliament, Ottawa holds a strong symbolic value for women. The visit was a chance for them to meet Senator Nancy Ruth. A Senior Friend of the WSCF, Senator Ruth worked hard to ensure that the General Assembly could take place in Canada.

Many of the women among us have traveled a long way to share our experiences and bear witness to our daily lives as women, students and Christians. But our deepest wish is to take this time together to reenergize ourselves in order to return home with a message of hope. During the Women's Pre-Assembly we understood that we all experience certain difficulties, although in different forms, especially in relation to our roles as leaders.

This is why it was so exciting for us to endure a two hour journey to get to Parliament. We went not to present specific complaints but to meet an exceptional woman who has dedicated her political work to the fight for women's rights. We were pleasantly surprised and encouraged to also learn the story of five other impressive women who revolutionized the life of women in Canada. What we took away, as Senator Ruth continued to repeat, is that faced with injustice, we must respond without fear and we must never act alone if we want to succeed and ensure our actions have an impact.

We want to take this opportunity to thank Senator Ruth for sparing no effort to ensure the success of the General Assembly and especially for her invitation to visit Ottawa as a beautiful way to close the Woman's Pre-Assembly.

In addition, for our generation, we no longer want simply to "be seen", we choose to "be" and to have a positive impact on our generation for the glory of the Lord.

Geneviéve H. KINGBO