Ceremony honors influential international women

By Hilaire Fong
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]

More than 100 people, including UCLA international students and
alumni, gathered at Bradley International Hall on Friday in a
celebration for international women.

The Dashew International Center and Office of Residential Life
hosted the sixth annual International Women’s Day Celebration
with the theme “Women Who Make a Difference.”

The evening featured an art exhibition, dinner, speakers,
performances and the first-ever presentation of the
“Women’s Achievement Award,” given to women who
make a difference in the world.

The ceremony began with words from Humanitarian Aid Consultant
and Mistress of Ceremonies Andrea Capachietti. Capachietti is a
member of many relief and disaster programs, including Direct
Relief International and the Crisis Response Team for the City of
Los Angeles.

When someone asked Capachietti why she was so involved in crisis
work, she simply replied, “I cannot imagine why you are not
doing this.”

The first award recipient was Lois Lee, founder of the Children
of the Night organization which rescues children who have turned to
street prostitution.

“An individual can make a difference,” said Lee, who
is training a woman from Japan to detect, treat and rescue children
in prostitution.

Nikki Tesfai, founder of the African Community Resource Center,
also received the Women’s Achievement Award 2002. Since 1984,
her organization has provided women from more than 52 countries
access to health care, counseling, education, job training,
temporary housing and legal aid. The ACRC has helped more than
50,000 African, European, Asian and South American women find
housing.

Tesfai had just returned the previous morning from a refugee
camp in Africa. Through her work, she is reminded that she is a
woman and was once a refugee herself, she said.

The evening closed with performances. Kim G. and nine other
performers presented a piece called “The Shadow Box,” a
collaborative effort of Kim G., the Akimbo Movement Theater,
inmates of the California Department of Corrections and the
community. Kim G., a former UCLA dance teacher, spoke about
teaching dance at state prisons and correctional facilities.

Performing two songs, UCLA’s female a cappella group
Random Voices displayed the talent of its soloists and beatboxers.
Random Voices was founded two years ago to expand opportunities for
females from different backgrounds.

“All of these ladies serve as wonderful examples of the
love, drive and power of women everywhere,” said Adriana
Cruz, one of the organizers.

The article “Ceremony honors influential
international women” (News, April, 30) inaccurately said Kim
G. is a former dance teacher at UCLA. She still teaches.
Correction posted 5/2/2002