HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-04-09, Page 6After a trip to the Pan de Vida
(Bread of Life) orphanage in
Mexico, Blyth-area resident Bob
Hulley can’t say enough good
things about the trip and can’t wait
to go back.
Hulley made the trip with his 21-
year-old daughter Peggy and seven
other volunteers from Huron
County to assist in the expansion of
the orphanage, which began nearly
20 years ago.
The primary tasks the team was
charged with were the painting of
the gymnasium, which is used for
church service on Sundays, in
addition to drywalling, as well as
running electrical connections and
plumbing throughout some of the
teachers’ dormitoriums.
From a 10-acre parcel of dry land
just 20 years ago, Pan de Vida has
become an orphanage that prides
itself on raising its children up full
circle, seeing them through from
two and three years old to college
degrees, jobs and careers.
“The compound is like the Taj
Mahal now, compared to what it
used to be,” Hulley says. “We had
dormitoriums to sleep in, so we
couldn’t complain.”
Hulley began considering a trip
like this, which he took in the
middle of February, over one year
ago, when friends of his went on a
similar trip and couldn’t say enough
good things about the experience
once they had returned.
He and his daughter immediately
began discussing the feasibility of a
trip like that of their friends’. With
mission trip teams often travelling
in groups of 20, a trip was
discovered that needed half of a
team to go to Mexico. Meetings
were held and eventually nine
people made the trip through Bethel
Bible Church in Seaforth, including
Hulley and his daughter Peggy.
The trip lasted from Feb. 13 to
Feb. 23, which meant only four
days of work and school missed for
those on the trip, encompassing two
weekends and a short week due to
Family Day.
As the trip approached, Hulley
said that he was excited,
anticipating the trip, but also
uncertain of what awaited him in
Mexico. He said he had heard some
nasty stories about similar trips in
Mexico, but was confident the trip
would go well, which it did.
Initially, the group landed in
Mexico City, which Hulley said, left
much to be desired. However, as
they travelled out of one of the
country’s main cities, the
countryside was mainly fields,
which were very dry, due to the
season.
Upon travelling through
Queretaro, which is a town close to
Pan de Vida, Hulley began to
appreciate the area much more and
said the actual orphanage was
beautiful, well-built and clean by
comparison.
The group stayed on-site in the
dormitoriums provided while they
worked on the building.
The work being done to Pan de
Vida is some of the last work
necessary for this particular
orphanage.
However, Hulley says, the
Mexican government has taken
notice of the good work being
done at Pan de Vida, and is
hoping to see the organization,
which is largely run by North
American missionaries, expand
throughout the country to include
more children.
Hulley says his trip to Pan de Vida
was one of the most exciting
experiences of his life and that
shortly after landing back in
Toronto, the group had already
begun discussing a time frame for a
potential return visit.
“Every one of us came back to
Canada, already talking about going
back to Pan de Vida,” he says. “This
is one of those projects that people
can believe in. I’ve been there, I’ve
seen it. I have no problem going to
bat for them.”
For more information on Pan de
Vida, visit the website at
http://www.freewebs.com/pandevid
a/ or the Canadian missionary
website, http://childrenofhope.info/
Thechildrenshomes/
PandeVida.html
PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2009.
Up and down
Peggy Hulley, front, daughter of Blyth-area resident Bob
Hulley, was hard at work painting the gymnasium at Pan de
Vida in Mexico this February with Samantha Robinet. The
pair were part of a group of nine volunteers from Huron
County who travelled through the Bethel Bible Church in
Seaforth to help make a difference in another country. (Photo
submitted)
Locals lend a hand at Panamain orphanage
THE EDITOR,We are writing in response toarticles that have appeared in localpapers, in an effort to set the record
straight with regard to North Huron’s
decision to opt out of the Blyth and
Wingham Fire Area Boards. Much
has been said in recent weeks about
North Huron council’s decision with
regards to leaving the fire boards but
much of it has been based upon
faulty notions and coffee shop
gossip.
Firstly, it has been stated in a
recent article entitled North Huron
needs the opportunity to explain
itself, that the councils of Howick
and Morris-Turnberry have both held
public meetings on the subject while
North Huron has not. Put simply, this
is false.
While it is true that Morris-
Turnberry held such a meeting
(March 19), the council in Howick
has never held a public meeting
dedicated to the fire services. That
council opted to discuss this matter
during regular council meetings and
via a detailed mailing to its
ratepayers. The March 25 meeting in
Howick was a gathering of private
citizens and was not sponsored by
the council.
With regards to North Huron, our
council has held at least 18 meetings
(all open to the public and advertisedin the local papers) between July 21and March 23 at which this subjectwas on the agenda or specifically
discussed.
It is also important to mention that
on Sept. 29, North Huron convened a
formal public meeting with all fire
board partners and a representative of
the Fire Marshal’s Office. At that
time, North Huron made its
intentions clear with regard to our
withdrawal from the fire boards and
we asked if the remaining partners
would be maintaining the
arrangements. If partners such as
Morris-Turnberry and Howick had
opted to continue to run the fire
boards themselves, North Huron
would have contracted our fire
protection services from them. All of
the partners independently decided to
dissolve the Wingham and Area Fire
Board.
Second, be assured that our
decision was not made in haste and
not without considerable public
discussion, contemplation and legal
advice. We opted to seek public input
prior to making the decision so as to
gauge public sentiment on the fire
service; a service that we view as one
of the most critical services offered
by the township.
That said, North Huron’s council
identified issues that needed to beresolved if we were to continue tohave that high level of confidence inthe service. To be clear, council has
nothing but the highest confidence
and regard for our firefighters
themselves. That said, governance
concerns had been brought to our
attention that needed to be resolved
and regrettably, the fire board
structure was not yielding the
required results.
For example:
1. Why are firefighters in Blyth not
currently given the same financial
considerations as Wingham
firefighters? We found this to be
unacceptable, as we believe that all
of our firefighters should be treated
in a manner that is fair, appropriate
and equitable. We do not accept
that a firefighter in Blyth should be
worth anything less than one in
Wingham.
2. Why should the ratepayers of
North Huron be paying to support a
fire service in another municipality?
We feel the people of neighbouring
municipalities deserve an
exceptional fire service but we also
believe that they should pay for it.
The ratepayers of North Huron
carry a heavy enough load already
and we believe it is time to balance
our priorities.
Under the fire board structure,North Huron paid more than half ofall costs associated with theWingham and Area Fire Board –
including the purchase of
equipment and vehicles used in the
Gorrie Fire Station. I use this as an
example as the trucks and
equipment in the Gorrie station are
never used in North Huron.
3. North Huron had developed some
concerns with the governance
structures of the various fire boards.
Despite the fact provincial statutes
require the council to bear exclusive
responsibility for fire service
delivery, the fire board system did
not provide that. Even the office of
the Fire Marshal admits the fire
board structure was a good system
that is no longer the best system. In
North Huron, we want the best fire
protection system possible.
There are many reasons why we
have made the decision to establish a
North Huron Fire Service and we
would be pleased to discuss them at
length with any ratepayer. We have
never concealed our plans from our
partners – in fact we have sought to
keep them apprised of our plans at
every turn in the road.
As recently as early March, North
Huron issued a lengthy letter to
municipalities such as Morris-
Turnberry and Howick detailing ourplans and progress to date. Theseletters are available via the municipaloffice for anyone wishing to inspect
them.
The face of fire services has
changed dramatically over the last 20
years. At the time when the original
agreements were first devised, the
main mandate of any fire service was
fire suppression. Today, the Ontario
Fire Marshal’s office places far
greater emphasis on prevention and
education.
Moreover, the regulatory and
legislative environment has changed
tremendously and we must keep pace
with these changes or we run the risk
of unnecessary property damage,
loss of life or costly lawsuits. No
longer is it legally acceptable to
maintain two fire departments, with
two sets of regulations with two
chiefs; with two standards for paying
firefighters for the important work
they do.
In the weeks ahead, we will
continue to move forward in a
productive manner. We would
encourage ratepayers to engage in
the process and to remember that the
Twp. of North Huron holds at least
three public meetings every month.
Sincerely,
North Huron Township Council.
Making a difference
Bob Hulley, centre, from the Blyth area, spent over one
week in Mexico in February helping to paint the Pan de
Vida orphanage, which is nearing the end of its expansion.
Hulley, seen here with four of Pan de Vida’s children,
travelled with his daughter, Peggy and has already begun
plans for another trip back. (Photo submitted)
Letter to the editorN. Huron councillors set the record straight
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen