Help Us Fund Our Women's Honorariums

Kateryna will perform her story at our Brampton performance in the spring of 2023

Karyna will perform her story at our Windsor performance in the spring of 2023
Make a tangible difference in the lives of immigrant and refugee women with our Women’s Honorarium Fund
Did you know that in 2023, with six workshops and performances, the women who participate will be given almost $40,000 in honorariums? Every woman is given $550 to offset out-of-pocket expenses such as childcare and transportation – things necessary for them to be able to take part in our ten-week program. With the rising cost of living and people struggling to make ends meet, these honorariums are more important than ever.
In exchange for the $550, The Shoe Project receives first rights to publication of the stories and the right to host the stories on our website. Check them out at https://theshoeprojectstories.com/
Please consider a donation to our Women’s Honorarium Fund. Your donation will make it possible for us to help women like Karyna and Kateryna, two of our new participants this fall, who escaped the war in Ukraine and fled to Canada.
“This year the war came to my home and I decided to leave everything I had and go to Canada on my own. My host family was like family for me. After six months my boyfriend and our dog Becky joined me in Windsor. I love Canada because it is the country filled with people from all over the world who came here just like me in search of a new beginning. I found out about The Shoe Project from my colleague. I love the way it is improving my writing, storytelling, acting and analyzing skills. I am looking forward to sharing my story with others!”
Karyna
Karyna will perform her story at our Windsor performance in the spring of 2023.
“I left my whole life behind when I escaped from my destroyed city in March 2022. I dreamt of being in a safe place and hearing the sounds of life instead of the noise of war. I wanted to forget this sense of pure dread and to feel free and alive again, confident in myself and my future. When I landed in Canada on August 16, I had my beloved family with me, a suitcase with our whole lives, an imaginary box full of memories and a firm belief that this country would support me in everything I aspired to. It has been vastly challenging but now I am here telling my story for The Shoe Project. I saw it as my fighting chance to feel more fulfilled with some sense of my belonging here. I am going to share my story and the hope I have found inside me to show other women with broken wings that anything is possible if we have faith.”
Kateryna
Kateryna escaped Ukraine with her husband and their rescue cat Carlusha. She will perform her story at our Brampton performance in the spring of 2023.
Read All Stories On Our New Website!
The Shoe Project Turns 10 Years Old:
Our Journey Together
The Shoe Project holds writing workshops where Canadian writers exchange skills with newcomer women, enabling them to share their stories of arrival in and adaptation to Canada -- through a pair of shoes.

Our Program
Many newcomer women are professionals and leaders in their original countries but need to work on their writing and speaking skills in English to attain similar roles in Canada.

Our Shoes, Our Stories
Every woman has a special pair of shoes in her life. For those who embark on the long journey to a new life in a new country, her choice of shoes is not only vital -- it is also a powerful metaphor for that journey.
Get a front row seat at a performance and listen to our stories.
Maggie Duan, The sneakers that brought me down to earth
News and Media
Stay up to date with the latest news from The Shoe Project
Kurdish immigrant and human rights activist honoured with Renate Shearer Award
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Telling the tales of Canadian immigrants, one pair of shoes at a time
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Canada’s Top Litigator Marie Henein donates her own designer shoes to The Shoe Project to help newcomer women
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Online Auction-Women of stature giving up their heels to The Shoe Project to help newcomer women
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Afghan women arriving in Saskatoon
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The Shoe Project Provides Precious Moments of Healing
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An Afghan woman’s struggle to come to Canada
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Writing the stories of Afghan women, one step at a time
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Why I am a Monthly Donor – Danielle McLaughlin
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Immigrant, refugee women in Edmonton share stories with soul in The Shoe Project-CBC News
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Our Shoes, Our Lives-Kingstonist
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Performance walks audience through women’s immigration journeys-WHIG Standard
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Working with stranded Afghan women to tell their stories provides unparalleled insights
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CBC Windsor radio interview with Rukhshana Ahmadi
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Cordelia Tang's OMNI News interview (in Mandarin)
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Why a Participant of The Shoe Project became a Mentor
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Young Afghan refugee shares her harrowing experience on stage-Global News
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Arts-based approaches provide a powerful tool to decolonize settlement practices-ThoroldToday
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From Tehran to Calgary
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How a confusing voicemail message led to a life changing workshop
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From Robotics to the Arts – How The Shoe Project led one newcomer woman to a new path
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The Shoe Project's Annual Report 2021
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Shining a light on the struggles of immigrant and refugee women-Breakfast Television
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The Shoe Project is headed overseas-RMO Today
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A Conversation With Katherine Govier-Podcast
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The Shoe Project helps immigrant and refugee women succeed in a new country-Global News
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The Shoe Project Rebuilding Immigrant Women’s Lives
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The Shoe Project Survey Study Shows Major Positive Impacts on Participants
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The Shoe Project announces first international workshop to assist Afghan girls stranded in Pakistan
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In The Flow
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IN THEIR SHOES: The Shoe Project launches Afghan Fund
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Are you an immigrant or refugee woman with a story to tell?
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RMO Today, "Confidence grows through vulnerability for Shoe Project participants"
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Saima S. Hussain, “Interrupting a Conversation about Islamophobia”
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In Memory of Aaron Berhane
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The Shoe Project Shorts: Immigration Stories Told on Film
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Teenaz Javat, Mississauga ON
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Joy Kogawa, “It Feels a Bit Like Déjà vu, Anti-Asian sentiment"
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Grandma Therapy
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Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program
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Mountain FM, "Canmore musician Nurdjana recording her late father’s songs."
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Edmonton Journal, "Women new to Canada put best foot forward in The Shoe Project at Workshop West."
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Sanaa Al-khannaq Calgary AB
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Venera Loshaj-Balaj, Surrey BC
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Himanshi Upadhyay, Vancouver BC
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Zeynep Ergun, Calgary AB
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Nelli Antepli, Calgary AB
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Manisha Shrestha, Canmore AB
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2020 Giller Prize Winner Souvankham Thammavongsa
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Ava Homa, "Minority Writers Have to Work Thrice as Hard"
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Ngozi Onyinye, Edmonton AB
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Read about us in Halifax Examiner!
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Gurpreet Nain, Toronto ON
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Women's Courage Can Change the World
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Bow Valley Shoe Project searching for immigrant women to share life stories
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Caroline Adderson, "I consider the novel a work of imagination based on fact."
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Levia Ququezana, Calgary AB
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Our American Friends!
Read about The Shoe Project in Foreign Bodies newsletter
A Happy Birthday
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No Safe Haven from Racism
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Little Shoes
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The Only Friends I Had
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My Shoes Left Behind
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My Brown Bata Slippers
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Seran Celik, Calgary AB
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Noriko Ohsada, Canmore AB
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My Mother and Grandmother Walk with Me
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In Salmon’s Shoes
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Natalia Mokhovikova, Richmond BC
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Beneath the Surface
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Heels in My Life
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Teenaz Javat, Mississauga ON
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Tenzin Palzom, Banff AB
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The book by Tanaz Bhathena has been awarded the 2019 Nautilus Gold Award.
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Mariana Barron, Banff, AB
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Dana Roman, Canmore, AB
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Umut Duygu Uzunel, Toronto, ON
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Cordelia Tang, Toronto, ON
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Sinthia Zaman, Calgary AB
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Shaima Jaff, Vancouver BC
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New Chapter in Edmonton
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The Shoe Project Shorts
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Rhoda Akuol Philip, Toronto ON
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Canmore author and Shoe Project founder to become member of Order of Canada
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PEN Canada and The Shoe Project Present: Our Shoes, Our Streets-PEN Canada
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Shoe Project searching for new participants
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In her shoes, after she got on her feet: In The Shoe Project workshops, women write about their immigration to Canada-The Globe and Mail
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Immigrant and refugee women — and their shoes — tell moving stories-Vancouver Sun
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Stepping into Their Shoes: An encounter with Immigrant Women
By Cindy Lapena
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Human Flow and the Shoe Project pulled me deep into immigrants’ and refugees’ stories: Timson-Toronto Star
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The Shoe Project on Mountain FM 106.5 in Canmore-Banff
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The Shoe Project lands on its feet
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In her shoes: Calgary's immigrant women tell their stories in The Shoe Project-Calgary Herald
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Immigrant women bare their souls through their soles
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Shoe Project seeks immigrant women with a story to tell
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The Shoe Project lets listeners walk a mile in an immigrant’s shoes-Toronto Star
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