Dateline April 26, 2008

Human perseverance is an amazing thing, the ability of life and individuals to face innumerable challenges, including an often difficult entry into this harsh world, is a constant source of pride and strength in the belief of the human will to survive and even thrive under circumstances that seem insurmountable and even impossible to comprehend and fathom, but humans are resilient.
Cindy Poitras is a survivor, a lady and human, who like many fellow women, has seen a lifetime of trials and tribulations that have in the end made the lady stronger, more willing to fight against the adversity life has thrown at her and throw away the fear she has felt at the hands of others for years. Her fight against adversity during the recent launch of Prevention of Violence Against Women Week in Prince George has inspired thousands of young women, from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds to rally around her cry for the violence to stop and people to love one another.

Born into a Metis family from the former Island Cache area of Prince George, which many citizens currently feel, and have for many years referred to in this quiet little city, as the wrong side of the tracks, Cindy came into this world as a 10 pound breech baby, with an attitude and this attitude is currently help to change the circumstances for hundreds of Prince George’s women.
Growing up among 13 children in a addiction prone family with a history of being rough, tough and hard to bluff, taught this lady she had to be tough and even rough to survive the life before her and she developed a reputation as the toughest kid around, boy or girl, physical or mental. She was constantly reminded by all around her that she would never amount to anything, that her dreams could never be achieved, but this never slowed this lady’s battle, and eventually resulted in her estrangement from her family and partner.

Years of abuse at the hands of loved ones, the cycle of drug addiction that saw three of her brothers die from drug abuse, her love for her three children and the honour she feels at her role as mother has lead this lady back from the brink, to become a shining example of what can be, with no excuses given.
The strength shown by this native lady from the hard side of the street is an inspiration to generations of native women, as well as women as a whole, and is only one example of what we as humans can accomplish when we let nothing deter us from our goal.
If your life is getting you down, you don’t know where to turn, remember these words and they may help you find some answers, “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear, control your fear and control your actions and choices.”

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one, fear is the parent of cruelty, and the only thing we really need to fear is fear itself.”
“We all have within us the tools we need to overcome our fears, but unfortunately we are often to fearful or insecure in our abilities to believe in ourselves, I guess for many this is often the result of failure, but then failure is not to be feared, for all successful humans do one thing, often many times, before succeeding at their goals. What is this you’re asking? Fail in order to pave the road to success.