Over the past 20 years, Dr. Block has assessed, documented and treated literally thousands of torture survivors, and he continues to do so. He has been a CCVT supporter with his work, doing a good amount of it on pro bono basis as well as with his regular monetarty donations. The CCVT is also proud of and thankful to Dr. Block for his commitment and for accepting to be a resource person available to mentor newly recruited phtysicians and to provide information or clarification about the role of medical reports written by physicians to document torture. He has sensitized young physicians about the importance of a family doctor's opinion about the psychological effects of victims of torture as a complement to the necessary meticulous physical examination and documentaion of the pysical effects of torture on refugees.
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2006 Amina Malko Award Recipient- Sr. Lois Anne Bordowit
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Sr. Lois Anne Bordowitz's life has taken her to many places. She has taught highschool in Toronto, worked with churches in their sponsorship of Vietnamese refugees in Calgary, worked at the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice in Toronto, and lived in Sierra Leone, West Africa for ten years. The time she spent in Africa affected her profoundly. While there, she was involved in the training of community leaders for pastoral and social participation. The Civil War that began in 1991 finally forced her out in 1994, mainly out of safety concerns.
In 1996, she started working full time for the FCJ Refugee Centre. Her roles in the centre have been varied. For the past four years, however, she has been going regularly to the Toronto Immigration Holding Centre as part of the Toronto Refugee Affairs Committee. There she is a facilitator and advocate, providing information and connecting detainees with government officials, legal assistance, and their relatigves among others. Her interaction with detainees conveyes precisely that comfort with an emphasis on justice and empowerment. Lately, in her role as the centre's communication staff person, she is responsible for coordinating public presentations and workshops, as well as maintaining and updating the centre's website.
hasactivelyparticapted in diverse activities at the CCVT. He has been an enthusiastic member of the Health Committee, the Board of Directors, and the Health Network. He has contributed to the development of the "CCVT Guidelines for Medical Legal Documentation of Torture Survivors" which have been instrumental in the training of newly recruited physicians at CCVT.