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Somalia kidnapping victim to speak at FTP fundraiser

May 29, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Tabitha Wells – Family Transition Place (FTP) has announced that the guest speaker for their fall fundraiser at Hockley Valley Resort will Amanda Lindhout, an award-winning humanitarian, social activist, public speaker and writer, as well as the Founder of the Global Enrichment Foundation..

A kidnapping survivor who has dedicated her life to standing up against domestic violence, Ms. Lindhout will be speaking in support of FTP’s Hope Project. She was faced with a terrifying journey when she was held hostage in Somalia for 460 days by masked men.

Through her time there, she converted to Islam as a survival tactic while receiving ‘wife lessons’ from one of her captors before making a daring and risky escape.

“We are elated that Amanda is joining us as our keynote speaker at FTP’s new fall fundraiser,” remarked Stacey Tarrant, Manager of Development & Community Relations. “I first heard Amanda’s story on an NBC News Dateline episode last fall and was on the edge of my seat and moved to tears by the time the episode was over.”

Tickets for the event were released last Friday morning, and by the end of the day were over 50 per cent sold out.

“We’re just really trying to spread the news because we want people to know she’s coming,” said Ms. Tarrant.

“I think that anybody that knows her would certainly want to attend, and even when I’ve been talking to people over the last couple of days and they hear the story they’re so inspired that their immediate reaction is that it is a don’t miss event.”

She added that Ms. Lindhout’s impressive journey and advocacy through her story are a large part of why they wanted to bring her to speak at the fundraiser, where her session is called Voice of Courage.

“We brainstormed and threw around some ideas, and we talked about how Amanda Lindhout is so inspiring and she stands for everything we do, which is empowering women,” explained Ms. Tarrant.

“At one point during her story, she told herself that if she ever survived this, she would do everything she could to create a legacy, and that was how she started her foundation to help domestic violence survivors.”

Ms. Lindhout has been featured frequently throughout the media, with attention on global news outlets and television networks throughout the world and was a featured speaker at a United Nations meeting.

“I think just that as horrific and horrible as her story is, the fact that she has managed to turn something so horrible into something so manageable, there is a lesson to be learned from her story,” said Ms. Tarrant.

“I believe the community will be enthralled with her story and moved by how she has turned a horrific experience into something so powerful and inspirational.”

The event will be held on Friday, September 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will include vendor tables, a lunch provided by Hockley Valley Resort, a book signing with Ms. Lindhout and a reception.

For more information on the event, costs to attend or to purchase tickets, visit www.familytransitionplace.ca.

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