FEBRUARY 2020 FREE
HOPEWELLEXPRESS.COM
Relief group celebrates 10 years
Borough approves plastic bag ban
By NicOLe ViViANO
By JeNNiFer GOeTZ
Ten years ago, Zebu Jilani and her late husband, Arshad, were compelled to help women from their home country of Pakistan. Now, Jilani is celebrating a decade of service. Coming to Hopewell Valley Central High School in Pennington on Saturday, Feb. 1 starting at 7:30 p.m. will be a charity concert featuring Pennington resident and international pianist, Meral Guneyman. The concert will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jilani’s organization, the Swat Relief Initiative. SRI is strictly volunteer only, meaning 100% of all proceeds will go towards the organization’s projects. Founded in 2010 by Zebu Jilani and her late husband, Arshad Jilani, SRI aides disadvantaged women and children in the Swat Valley area of northern Pakistan. Both born in Pakistan, the Jilani’s felt they needed to help the area that was brutalized by Taliban and suffered a surge of refugees as well as a flood and earthquake. SRI has a multi-faceted focus on Swat, with initiatives in community mobilization, promoting self-sufficiency, advocating for women and girls’ education, aiding refugees, healthcare, environmental awareness and empowering the economy. “We try to do this holistic program because we feel that they’re all interrelated,” Zebu Jilani said. “All these sectors try See SRI, Page 7
The idea of a statewide plastic bag ban has floated around New Jersey government for the last two years, but nothing has been set in stone yet. Hopewell Borough, however, recently decided to take action, joining a growing list of state municipalities that have instated their own policies. After hearing from fi fth graders from Hopewell Valley Elementary School and representatives from the Watershed Institute staff at a meeting on Jan. 2, the Hopewell Hopewell resident Nancy Kennedy recently wrote a nonfiction book about women’s suffrage for Borough Council voted to enact young adult audiences. The book will be published this month, celebrating the 100-year anniversary a plastic bag ban that will officially go into effect this April. of women gaining the right to vote. This was not the first time the Hopewell Borough considered a plastic bag ban. Back in 2018, the borough council enacted an ordinance that directed the town’s Economic Development Comlater, Kennedy is set to release as a child, until her brother-in- mission to create a program “to Local author writes her latest book, Women Win law helped him with a science encourage the transition away book profiling the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amend- activity. Kennedy searched for from single-use plastic bags.” This on Feb. 11—two days others and couldn’t find them, educational period would help the women’s suffragists ment, prior to the release is the 100- so she created her own. Her community to move away from ahead of centennial year anniversary of New Jer- military chaplain series had a handing out plastic bags, and sey ratifying the constitutional similar genesis—a friend, a for- instead rely on reusable bags. “The idea for Hopewell Boramendment that gave women mer Air Force chaplain, told her By SAM SciArrOTTA a few stories over dinner. She ough to take a stand on single the right to vote. Women Win the Vote is Ken- was captivated, and her friend use plastic came from our local Leave it to Nancy Kennedy to turn an offhand remark into nedy’s seventh book, follow- mentioned that other chaplains nonprofit community,” said ing two children’s science across all branches have hun- Ryan Kennedy, a member of a book. In late 2017, the Hopewell- activity books and a four-work dreds of compelling stories. So the Hopewell Borough Council based author was talking with a series of stories told by military she got to work. and chair of the Hopewell Eco“My kind of trajectory is that nomic Development Committee. colleague, who mentioned that chaplains. Each of her ideas 2020 would mark the centennial spawned from a conversation or I find something and think, ‘Oh, “Several groups including the has anybody ever done this? Watershed Institute, Friends of of women’s suffrage. The cogs observation. Kennedy said her son They haven’t? I’ll do it,’” Ken- Hopewell Valley Open Space and in her mind started turning. Now, just over two years couldn’t get into arts and crafts See KENNEDY, Page 8 See BAG BAN, Page 10
19 women for the 19th amendment
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