Arab Women's Committee Commemorates Mothers' Day
 

"Raising children is not difficult," according to Afaf Issa. "It is a gift from God, like planting a garden with beautiful flowers. You water them and take care

of them and you know they will turn out well." Issa's faith and optimism won her "Best Mother" at the AAAN's Arab Women's Committee May 13 Mothers' Day Celebration. To compete for the title, a handful of committee members presented their accomplishments as mothers to the rest of the (several dozen) women, and a judging panel chose winners. 

Helping women acknowledge and take pride in their strengths is one of the goals of the Arab Women's Committee, which promotes leadership among Arab immigrant and Arab American women in greater Chicagoland. The committee works on building self-reliance and self-esteem, helping mothers deal with the cultural gap between themselves and their children, and identifying issues in the community that affect members--as well as finding creative ways to address those issues.

One way the committee's members have identified important issues is through a writing project. In 2008, two groups of 10 women wrote about the difficulties they have faced as immigrant women in this country.

Read one of their stories (translated into English) from the project.

Follow us on twitter to find out the moment the book of stories becomes available!

Read more on Mothers' Day.