This is the third year has hosted the series of events, which includes a theater production on Monday; a “Remember the Heroines” vigil for women killed in Mexico on Tuesday; and two events on Friday: chapel with Center for Justice and Peacebuilding graduate student Myriam Aziz and Darsheel Sehbi, and the “Taste of EMU” cooking contest.

A committee from the International Student Organization chooses a new theme each year. The 2015 committee includes students Gamtessa, Brenda Soka, Winifred Gray-Johnson, Abdel Barry and Emmanuel Kampanga.

‘Sąđąšąđ˛Ô’

Monday’s performance of will be in the Studio Theater at 7 p.m. A collaboration of seven female playwrights from around the world, this documentary play is a series of monologues based on interviews with international women leaders. Directed by theater professor , “Seven” chronicles the worldwide struggles for empowerment, peace and well-being in Russia, protecting women from domestic violence; in Cambodia, with victims of human trafficking; in Guatemala, with the poor; in Afghanistan, with rural women; in Nigeria and Pakistan, for women’s education and rights; and in Northern Ireland, promoting peace and equality, according to the production’s website.

Olga Baltazar, who reads for the Guatemalan character Annabella de Leon, does not see herself as an actress. However, reading the script convinced her to join the cast. “These women rose from against all odds of their culture to fight for women’s’ rights,” says Baltazar, who is from Mexico. “I feel connected to to my character because I, for one, represent a culture where women are often put down.”

“These stories have inspired me,” says Rebekah York, a senior from Romania who plays an Irish woman named Inez McCormack. “To see that women have been supporting each other and empowering other women over the years is truly amazing. Sometimes we can feel so alone in our work, but looking at history and reading about some pretty incredible women of the past fills me with hope.”

Vogel says the “powerful piece” will be presented as a concert reading. Baltazar and York are joined by cast members Victoria Gunawan, Adila Wahdat, Dera Nwankwo and Iryna Clamp.

‘Taste of EMU’

The ‘Taste of EMU’ competition on Friday is open to all community members. To participate, contact Susannah Lepley in the Multicultural and International Student Services office. Up to $20 of ingredient expenses can be reimbursed.

“I was part of the food festival last year as a participant, but this year I’m really happy that I got the chance to help coordinate this event,” says Gamtessa, a sophomore computer engineering major from Ethiopia.

“Last year, we had to cook [for the contest] as part of my global connections class,” Gamtessa explains. “This year, we changed the name from the ‘International Food Festival’ to ‘Taste of EMU’ because we didn’t want to restrict the food to the international community. We want anyone and everyone who is willing to do it, to prepare something  which they believe has meaning to them and people around them and share it with the campus community.We hope this experience will take people down the road and across the globe.”

Senior Zoe Parakuo from Kenya competed last year with one of her favorite snacks, samosas – a savory, fried pastry. Samosas “were adapted by Kenyans when Indians settled there back in the day, so I thought a lot of people would be familiar with it,” says Parakuo. “I wanted students to enjoy my food.”

It also helped that Gbowee knew ˛ÝÝŽÉçÇř well. She had earned a in 2007.

Gbowee, a social worker who led a women’s peace movement that helped end Liberia’s civil war 10 years ago, addressed a fundraising dinner for over 100 people at EMU on Feb. 7. Organized by the school’s International Student Organization, the event was followed by a public address to about 200 attendees, who put contributions into baskets passed by the students.

The events raised over $4,000 after expenses for the care of children whose parents died from Ebola. The funds will go to the Nobel winner’s in the Liberian capital of Monrovia. The foundation makes grants to grassroots groups, including two Liberian organizations founded by graduates of .

The countries hardest hit by Ebola, which started in March 2014, were Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, said Gbowee in her public address. The 3.4 million people of her country had only 51 doctors. “We were not prepared for Ebola, but Liberian civil society rose to the occasion,” she said. “We didn’t wait around for the international community to come and help us.”

Gbowee told the stories of three Liberian heroes – a doctor who cared for Ebola victims in his humble clinic at the risk of his own life, a taxi driver who transported dangerously infectious patients to the hospital, and a young man with a full-time job who provides care for orphans in his off hours.

The epidemic has finally abated in Africa, she said. The Ebola clinics are emptying and students are going back to school. But, she added, the people still live in fear, the economy is ruined and orphans abound.

“We appreciate the help of international organizations,” Gbowee said. “But sometimes they didn’t bother to consult with the local people about how to fight Ebola. They thought they had the expertise, but if you don’t really listen to what the people want, then it’s not much use.”

Gbowee has a reputation for speaking truth to power, most notably when she publicly confronted the president of Liberia during the country’s civil war. Most recently she criticized the United Nations’ humanitarian aid efforts during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

During a question-and-answer session at the conclusion of her speech, Gbowee praised young people for their idealism and gave advice on how to start on the path to activism. “Ideas that are ground-breaking and keep you awake at night might seem like crazy ideas,” she said. “But write them down, tell a friend and step out boldly. Getting angry about an unjust situation is not only okay, she added, but a good thing.

The students who organized the fundraiser represented five continents: Kaltuma Noorow and Nandi Onetu of Kenya, Winifred Gray-Johnson and Gee Paegar of Liberia, Sun Ju Lee of South Korea, Wael Gamtessa of Ethiopia, Brenda Soka of Tanzania, Zoe Parakuo of the United States, Norah Alobikan of Saudi Arabia, Danika Saucedo of Bolivia, Victoria Gunawan of Indonesia, and Marcus Ekman of Sweden. , EMU’s director of , is the advisor for the International Student Organization.

Gbowee’s last trip to EMU was in April 2014, when she was the that included her son, Joshua Mensah. Before that she came to campus in . Just prior to her arrival, the was announced, and thus her appearance made for a frenzied weekend.

Editor’s note: Kara Lofton, a 2014 EMU grad, reported on Gbowee’s appearance at the Ebola fundraiser for local public radio station WMRA; her four-minute report can be heard.