For the second year in a row, a Muslim woman has been awarded a special scholarship from the Ottawa Police Service in order to pursue a career in policing.

Urge Ibrahim was presented with the Thomas G. Flanagan S.C. Scholarship by Chief Charles Bordeleau at the Ottawa Police Service's annual Community/Police Awards on June 18.

“Respond ”“ don't react”. What do these words mean to you? On Monday, Apr. 9, I participated in a YOUCAN Peace Builder Workshop. In the workshop, I learned about responding and not reacting to challenging situations. I learned that if someone is bothering you or bullying you, it's better to respond effectively than react with anger.

A bully will always want a reaction out of you. But if you respond in a self-controlled way, the bully won't have an answer. For example, if someone treats you in a disrespectful manner and you start yelling and screaming back at them; that would be a reaction.

When tragedy strikes, we the fortunate few want to reach out and help.  In our rush to get aid to affected areas, we forget the phrase, “There's a sucker born every minute”.  A prime example is the earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan a few months ago.  Within hours of the disaster, researchers at the computer and internet security company Symantec reported more than 50 domains with the names “Japanese tsunami” or “Japan earthquake”.  Dummy email addresses and domains requesting money raced to cash in on the tragedy.

Sometimes, sadly, it isn't simply advantage-takers and scam artists that let donors down. As I sit and listen to Simon Atem tell his story of how an Alberta-based charity with seemingly good intentions let him down, the young man in his early twenties sounds more like a lost boy.