Jane's Walk 2022: Reflections on the Get to Know Martindale Experience

By Sukhman Hehar

This year, the CDLI team organized a Jane’s Walk that happened in Martindale on Saturday, May 7th and we got a chance to learn about the Genesis Centre, the Dashmesh Culture Centre, and the Martindale Community Association. We began by sharing in a land acknowledgement and honoring Jane Jacobs, the founder of the Jane’s Walks, and learning the purpose behind Jane’s Walks which is to explore, reflect, question, and observe our communities.

What I learned on the walk was how simple it was to share about my community and connect with everyone. I’ve lived in Martindale since 2007 and have been able to get to know a lot of the people in the community through volunteering at the Martindale Community Association and the Dashmesh Culture Centre Gurdwara Sahib. While planning this walk, I reached out to some of the speakers, members I’ve known in the community throughout the years, and I’m always honoured as how people will take time out of their schedule to support a community event. It inspires me to see community members passionate in their own endeavours and leading change through engagement.

While I was quite nervous to lead an event since I haven’t done so in a number of years, through the support of the CDLI team and my co-host Tyson, a lot of the planning and specifics were taken care of. I learned that being a part of a walk involves planning ahead for the program to be successful, to take into consideration the weather, and thinking about which routes to take and how long it takes. Beginning with a land acknowledgement set the group’s mindset to appreciate the historical lands of the sacred Indigenous people who we have the honor of sharing the land with. This practice has been a integral part of the CDLI community which I value.

We had a smaller group which gave us the opportunity to get to know everyone by name and their background. We learned where people came from, what brought them to a Jane’s Walk and what they appreciate about the walk. This helped to build a respectful and inclusive environment that supported deeper thinking and reflection, giving everyone the chance to ask questions that were meaningful to them.

We began by meeting at the Genesis Centre where we were fortunate to have Shelina Bata share with us the different programming that happens and learned about the Trellis organization and some work that the North of McKnight Community Hubs has been working on.

Next, we walked to the Dashmesh Culture Centre to learn about the Walking Away Hunger Campaign that happens every year. One of the main organizers for this year, Harman Kaur Virk, explained how this campaign began 15 years ago and aims to raise funds and food for the Calgary Food Bank. The campaign ends during the week of the Nagar Keertan, annual Sikh parade, when participants visit the food bank to donate food and proceeds.

One highlight from the tour was that participants were able to go inside the Dashmesh Culture Centre Gurdwara and have a visit. Our initial plan was to stop outside and learn about the Walking Away Hunger, however we had some time so we decided to visit the inside for a few minutes. Over the years I’ve done tours with different school groups, interfaith communities, Calgary Police Service Diversity team, and others, so having guests is something I am used to. My main focus was to ensure everyone was comfortable in their own space and I wanted to respect everyone’s views. Ensuring everyone is comfortable allows for an environment that is respectful for everyone since going inside a new place such as a place of worship, may be quite unfamiliar to a lot of people.

The Gurdwara is a place where everyone is welcome, regardless of their faith, gender, sexual orientation, culture, status, class, or race. Everyone was open to taking off their shoes and socks, washing their hands, and covering their heads with a head-covering which is a basic protocol for anyone visiting a Gurdwara. There was a wedding happening there so we got to see the bride and family members getting ready for the marriage ceremony. Next we went downstairs to the langar hall, “langar” is the practice of a free, warm, vegetarian meal being provided to everyone in every Gurdwara, all around the world. This concept is an integral part of the Sikh teachings as it honours the basic need of everyone to partake in a meal, regardless of their background. We got to see the kitchen area and the large pots where food is prepared daily for hundreds of people. Everyone enjoyed visiting the Dashmesh Culture Centre, since it is an integral aspect of the community in Martindale and many events happen there regularly that builds community.

Our third stop was learning about the Martindale Community Association. We were fortunate to have Puma Banwait, the current president, explain some of the initiatives that the association has been working on in the last couple of years. He bought the walkers orange juice since they had been walking for some time. He shared information about events that the Martindale Community Association has such as neighbor day, family skating, and garbage pick-ups. Getting a chance to connect with Puma after a few years reminded me how much he cares for the community and his work ethic towards committing to a task and getting it done. He has always made the time to come and support community events and takes the time to reply meaningfully. A lot of the members of the CA, such as Chris and Terylynn, were supportive when I was working towards getting someone out to speak and connected me with different people who could potentially be free to come and speak. This reminds me how valuable the work community members do just by connecting people to each other.

We ended our walk by having all the participants share their learnings, observations, and gratitude’s from the walk and opportunities to get involved with CDLI. I learned that Jane’s Walk really bring different community members together, and there is so much good that everyone is doing. I value hearing about everyone’s backgrounds, what brings them out, and what they see and learn, it inspires me to continue to build community, engage in open, vulnerable practice, and work towards acknowledging and including everyone around me through daily interactions.

Thank you to all of the participants that came out to learn about Martindale!