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Richmondite offers free training workshops to show compassion and resilience in the face of crisis

A Richmond-based grassroots organization is going to host a 10-week training via Zoom to help people build resilience and live with compassion. 
Mohamed Dewji
Mohamed Dewji will launch a series of free training sessions in May with the help of a non-profit. 

Compassion is needed at all times, but this quality is more valued amid the pandemic, according to Richmondite Mohamed Dewji, who will launch a series of free training sessions in May with the help of a non-profit. 

The Community Mental Wellness Association of Canada (CMWAC), a Richmond-based organization which promotes mental health and wellness, will host a 10-week training via Zoom to help people build resilience and live with compassion. 

Dewji, who runs a pharmacy in Surrey, completed a 10-week compassion integrity training program through life university back in 2019 to become a certified facilitator. 

“Those classes changed my life and made me live happily with others,” said Dewji, noting that “compassion is a strength rather than weakness.”

Dewji told the Richmond News that homeless people and people who suffer from mental illness walk into his store for help on a daily basis, and this program allows him to look at everyone in a much different light to be able to help them. 

“When I am doing my work now, it’s not just bottom-line business. It’s about wanting to help,” said Dewji. 

People from different nationalities, cultural backgrounds and economic groups are welcome to participate in these classes, noted Dewji. 

“As individuals, we can practice compassion and live with compassion with each other, and it will flow through higher societies like businesses and governments and so on. One of the skills we have been talking about is impartiality and common humanity and how we can extend compassion to all people, not just people in our own group,” said Dewji. 

There have been some debates about if capitalism and compassion could co-exist. Dewji pointed out that a world without compassion could eventually hurt everyone in the system - no one can escape from it. 

“A world without compassion could lead to discrepancies and gaps between people on social and economic levels,” said Dewji, adding that many people who complete the course come back to him saying that they wish they had done this program sooner. 

People who complete the program are given a certificate. For more information or questions about registering for compassion training sessions, contact Dewji at mohamed@rahmafoundation.ca.