Amarok Society is a Canadian charity operating in
Asia and
Africa. Incorporated as a federally registered charity in 1992, it was founded by Dr. Tanyss Munro and her husband, G.E.M. Munro, a noted writer, as a support to their efforts to improve educational opportunity for
Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
and
First Nations students. To avoid appearances of conflict of interest, Amarok Society suspended its activities when Dr. Munro was appointed Senior Advisor to the Minister of Indian Affairs under Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
. The charity was revived to support the Munros' creation of educational programs in
South Asia in partnership with
Baridhara Mohila Samobaya Samity, Ltd., the largest women's organization in South Asia. Amarok Society's programs, 'Mothers of Intentions Projects', are unusual in that, in the absence of affordable educational opportunities, they train very poor mothers to be family and neighbourhood teachers.
Significant support for Amarok Society comes from
Rotary Clubs. It has a formal relationship with the Rotary Club of
Belleville, Ontario,
Canada and with the Rotary Club of Dhaka Mid-Town,
Bangladesh, and is supported by many other Rotary Clubs in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and the
United Kingdom.
Additional support has come from the sale of a book written by G.E.M. Munro, "South Asian Adventures with the Active Poor", which gained best-seller status in Canada.
A documentary film, "Heart to Head: How Amarok Society Women are Teaching the World's Poorest Children", was completed in early 2014.
In 2013, the Munros were awarded Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals in recognition of the work of Amarok Society.
External links
Official siteRotary Club of Dryden, Ontario, Canada
Charities based in Canada