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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-01-08, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015. PAGE 15. Network ADVERTISE ACROSS ONTARIO OR ACROSS THE COUNTRY! For more information contact your local newspaper. DRIVERS WANTED LAIDLAW CARRIERS VAN DIVISION requires experienced AZ licensed driv- ers to run the U.S. Premium mileage rate. Home weekly. New equipment. Also hiring Owner Operators. 1-800- 263-8267 Owner Operators Required Requirements 2009 must be trucks or newer We will inspect older equipment Clean driver’s abstract/CVOR/FAST Card Minimum 2 years cross border exp. Cross Border Company Drivers Required Clean driver’s abstract/CVOR Criminal Record Search Minimum 2 years cross border exp. Must complete pre-employment drug test APPLY TO: recruiting@rosedale.ca OR CALL TOLL-FREE: 1-877-588-0057 ext. 4612 for more details on each position. Mississauga terminal also looking for licensed LCV Drivers. 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Pioneer Steel 1-800-668-5422 www.pioneer- steel.ca STEEL BUILDINGS/METAL BUILD- INGS 60% OFF! 20x28, 30x40, 40x62, 45x90, 50x120, 60x150, 80x100 sell for balance owed! Call 1-800-457-2206 www.crownsteel- buildings.ca Connect with Ontarians – extend your business reach! www.networkclassifi ed.org Education out of reach of some students in S. Africa Hullett Central’s secretary, Morag Watt, continues her description of education in South Africa. In South Africa, all children, regardless of the school they attend, must wear a school uniform. For some, this simple financial requirement is enough to make education unattainable for them. For many black children, there is no option as to which school they will attend. Many attend a local “primer”; a small, one-room schoolhouse often provided for them by the local farmer who employs their families. There is no money to attend a “fee paying” school. They have no means of transportation to get to another school even if they were able to afford it, and, sadly the importance of education often has not been embraced in their tribal culture. For many, education beyond basic life skills remains unattainable, or perhaps more correctly, a goal not pursued, even though it may be available. There simply is not the commitment to attend and work towards changing their lot in life. It is the vicious cycle of poverty that is not exclusive to South Africa. We see the same thing here in North America. During this Christmas season, I thought I would start by telling you about Thornhill Primary School. This is the poorest of the schools I go to. The school itself is made up of a several classrooms housed in framed square buildings about the size of a boxcar. Each class houses 30 - 40 children sitting three to a desk, on the floor and around the perimeter of the room. This school is almost exclusively black children. Previously I talked about the quintile system of school funding in South Africa. This school serves local farm labourers’ children who live in the local settlement (shanty town). They are the poorest of the poor. There is no question that this school should be rated a quintile 1 school and qualify for the maximum government funding, but for some reason it is rated a quintile 3 school, which means it receives only minimal funding. In my opinion, this injustice is reflective of a system that is fraught with corruption and inequity. These people are totally at the mercy of decision-makers who do not necessarily have their best interest at heart. Enough said about that. The best thing about this school is the principal. He, a man who grew up under the apartheid system but was fortunate enough to receive a good education and he, in turn, is a living example to these children that education can change their lives. He is a dynamic, passionate leader who instills confidence, self-respect and inspiration to his charges and his staff. Still, his greatest challenge is attendance, or rather non-attendance by children. Many of them walk a great distance to attend school, they live in single-parent or child-headed households having lost parents to disease, violence or abandonment. They may or may not have eaten, let alone had their emotional or social needs met. And saddest of all, many of they themselves are afflicted with AIDS. When your basic necessities of life are not being met, it is difficult to be an enthusiastic learner. Still, the staff at this school works tirelessly to raise up their charges. They are resourceful in their teaching methods and absolutely nothing is wasted. Their commitment in the face of such challenges is awe inspiring. Each year when I go to the schools, I take with me a few simple supplies: pencils and notebooks, a few reading books and some teaching aids. The cost of these things to me is minimal but to these children they are invaluable. I am always humbled by the exceptional gratitude that the administration displays upon receiving such a small gift. I am almost embarrassed to accept their thanks for things that we take for granted here, but it is tremendously rewarding to know that these gifts will help in the work these dedicated people do. The real satisfaction, however, comes from the faces of the children. No matter how poor, how hopeless their situation may be or how unfairly life has treated them, these children find joy in the simplest of pleasures; A new pencil, a notebook that they may call their own, the wonder of a storybook. These are such little things to us, but to them, they are absolutely magical. Throughout the year here in Canada, it gives me great pleasure to work with the Avon Maitland District School Board and the Rotary Club of Grand Bend on their Global Literacy Project (www.grandbendrotary.com). This project sees old, obsolete and surplus furniture, equipment and books from our school system shipped to schools such as Thornhill in South Africa rather than being discarded into landfills. The program relies solely on the generosity of donors to cover the cost of shipping these containers and on the work of many volunteers to organize, collect materials and load the containers. It is a tremendously successful project which has seen 41 overseas shipping containers sent to Africa to date. And the work continues, because the need continues. In closing, I would like to share this thought with you. As I give thanks for the many blessings and privileges I enjoy in Canada, I know I will take a moment and reflect on my experiences in South Africa and the lessons I have learned there – to find joy in simple things, to love absolutely and unconditionally, and to persevere when the task seems overwhelming. Education is the only hope these children have to change their future. And after all ... is there any greater gift we can give them than hope? NEWS FROM LONDESBORO Can we help you? The Blyth and District Community Centre played host to the annual Church Cup on Jan. 2, an annual hockey tournament that brings together church hockey teams from all over the community and beyond for some fun over the Christmas holidays. This year, it was the Mitchell Muscle that came out on top. Serving spectators some chili this year were, from left: Chandler Bromley, Griffie Bromley, Jasmin Johns, Chrissie Johns and Rorie Bromley. (Vicky Bremner photo)