Thoughts on the Completion of OUR collective efforts to ship classroom materials to 28 Remote Ontario Communities
The needs in north Ontario are no different from the needs in North Quebec, North Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Nor are they different from Labrador. These huge efforts of a large number of Ontario students and teachers in Ontario resulted in a magnificent outpouring of concern and love for the kids in the northern reaches of Ontario. We travelled through so many schools and spoke so many times to large number of students. I am certain that the messages left in their hearts will have an enduring benefit. The teachers clearly established one very important fact: being a teacher is a great deal more than "just a job". So many of the teachers spent the weekend at the Armoury in Georgetown Ontario where over 40,000 wonderful text books, assorted school supplies, toys for junior kindergarten children and arts and crafts supplies were all sorted and carefully packed in a total time of about 16 hours.
Those few days in which so many "ordinary folks" rolled up their sleeves were all about caring. My emotions were overwhelmed as watched the work accomplished on the floor and sorting tables at the Armoury. Things were chaotic throughout early Saturday as hundreds of trucks, cars and trailers streamed in. For a period, I was concerned that the material could ever possibly get sorted and packed. But my little army was very determined and the job got done. Everything was into carefully marked shipping boxes, loaded onto 28 pallets and finally loaded onto a 53 foot trailer by 5:30 Sunday.
The next day, Base Borden; we gathered to turn the shipment over to the military. An amazing day provided a chance for me to spend a bit of time with two long lost cousins. Consistent with the lives of far too many Indigenous families, my cousins (Judi and Sheila) and myself saw a reunion after almost 150 years of family separation. My cousins brought their friends in a Ladies Drumming Circle and they performed and took part. I was touched to watch the ladies invite some of the students from a Mississauga school take part.
As much as we celebrate the distribution of 40,000 text books and wonder how the kids in north Ontario will like them, we must all understand that a "task" has been completed but the larger part of the "job" remains. Sadly, we were unable to help similar kids in the other regions. Similarly, poverty, the absence of physical structure such as housing and schools remain a "job" looking for workers. The task of creating awareness among mainstream population will not be advanced by leading people to believe that this magnificent gift of text books represents a solution. In fact, these gifts only represent a gift of hope.
I came to understand that simply laying on bad aids in program and project such as this does not move us towards a solution. That work of raising awareness among mainstream populations is the only way to bring about the long term and permanent solutions needed.
The work continues by way of a constant series of public speaking opportunities in main stream Canada where I attempt to inform and open eyes and hearts.
Click on the link below and hear a recent TV Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kXLWnyAXE
Those few days in which so many "ordinary folks" rolled up their sleeves were all about caring. My emotions were overwhelmed as watched the work accomplished on the floor and sorting tables at the Armoury. Things were chaotic throughout early Saturday as hundreds of trucks, cars and trailers streamed in. For a period, I was concerned that the material could ever possibly get sorted and packed. But my little army was very determined and the job got done. Everything was into carefully marked shipping boxes, loaded onto 28 pallets and finally loaded onto a 53 foot trailer by 5:30 Sunday.
The next day, Base Borden; we gathered to turn the shipment over to the military. An amazing day provided a chance for me to spend a bit of time with two long lost cousins. Consistent with the lives of far too many Indigenous families, my cousins (Judi and Sheila) and myself saw a reunion after almost 150 years of family separation. My cousins brought their friends in a Ladies Drumming Circle and they performed and took part. I was touched to watch the ladies invite some of the students from a Mississauga school take part.
As much as we celebrate the distribution of 40,000 text books and wonder how the kids in north Ontario will like them, we must all understand that a "task" has been completed but the larger part of the "job" remains. Sadly, we were unable to help similar kids in the other regions. Similarly, poverty, the absence of physical structure such as housing and schools remain a "job" looking for workers. The task of creating awareness among mainstream population will not be advanced by leading people to believe that this magnificent gift of text books represents a solution. In fact, these gifts only represent a gift of hope.
I came to understand that simply laying on bad aids in program and project such as this does not move us towards a solution. That work of raising awareness among mainstream populations is the only way to bring about the long term and permanent solutions needed.
The work continues by way of a constant series of public speaking opportunities in main stream Canada where I attempt to inform and open eyes and hearts.
Click on the link below and hear a recent TV Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kXLWnyAXE