HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-06-24, Page 7Godench Signal -Star, Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - Page 7
Opinion
A heartfelt thank you for Huron from Africa
To the Editor;
Nearly eights months ago, Huron County
residents were called upon to donate second
hand bicycles to Africa. In a tremendous
response of good will, more than 350 bicycles
were collected, along with several thousands
of dollars in funding, to transport the bicycles
in a shipping container to Namibia.
After much delay, the bicycles have finally
arrived in Okatana, a farming village in
northern Namibia. They are the perfect tool
to address issues related to HIV/AIDS, pov-
erty reduction and gender equality.
In this country of two million people in
southern Africa, I can quickly tell you that
people in and around Okatana often battle
overwhelming obstacles: severe poverty,
great barriers in realizing gender equality,
lack of transport to access basic services and
regular flooding that destroys crops, homes
and businesses on an annual basis.
Along with the rest of the country, Okatana
is also experiencing the HIV/AIDS crisis in a
very real and startling way. Here, about one
in every five adults is HIV positive. One in
every seven children has lost a parent, often
from an HIV-related illness.
Despite the huge number of People Living
with HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination is
rife. Within communities, people are openly
discriminated against. At workplaces, people
who are open about their HIV status are often
overlooked from getting a job. In some fami-
lies, people who are HIV positive can be
abandoned and left to die alone.
The container of bicycles will benefit one
group in Okatana who is working to address
issues that People Living with HIV/AIDS
face. Run in conjunction with the Catholic
Church, Catholic AIDS Action provides
home-based care services to people suffering
from HIV. For people living positive, they
offer palliative care services, home based
counselling and material support (including
food). Although it is not recognized as offi-
cial practice by the government of Namibia,
home based care volunteers also collect anti-
retroviral medication on behalf of their clients
from health facilities in distant places. For
children whose parents are either sick with an
HIV related infection or who have lost a par-
ent due to HIV/AIDS, home based care vol-
unteers provides physical, emotional and
financial support so children can remain in
school.
In Okatana, an active group of 275 home
based care volunteers look after 1,800 peo-
ple. The volunteers, who are usually low-
income women, travel long distances to visit
clients. Last year, another donor provided'the
volunteers with bicycles. Immediately, vol-
unteers reported that they visited more clients
in a day and offered far more services than
when they had to walk.
However, as the bicycles rolled across
northern Namibia, they broke down in the
most inconvenient places. Parts were hard to
get hold of. And basic mechanical skills
weren't often technical enough to adequately
repair the bike. Further, numerous children
and adults, not associated with the home
based care group, also wanted transportation
of their own to cover the wide distances they
normally walked.
Realizing the need, early in 2009 a com-
mittee of Okatana's Catholic AIDS Action
was formed to advocate for a bicycle work-
shop in the community.
That's where the Huron County shipment
Thanks for the support
To •the Editor;
Branch 109 sends a great big
thankyou to all those who made our
D -Day and rededication parade and
service such a success:
The Celtic Blue; Laketown Band;
Air cadets; our colour party; our guests,
soldiers from Borden and Meaford
with the armoured vehicle, and to
those who brought the Jeeps.
Special thanks to our Padre Rev.
Cannon Alan Livingstone, and our
Parade Marshall, Syd Hall. To the
Branches that came to show their sup-
port, our wonderful fly-past, our'digni-
taries, and all those that attended to
honour our veterans, we are very grate-
ful. Special thanks must go to the
Town works, and Parks and Rec, for
their co-operation and to Wanda Keith
for ajl her help, to Laidlaws for the
bus, and our driver John Orr, to our
committee who worked hard to make
this a perfect day, and to Doug Mclsaac
and his family for their donations, We
thank all our staff and volunteers who
cooked and presented the lunch. The
efforts of all of you to honour and
remember those who fought and died
for this country were much appreciat-
ed. We will remember them.
Sincerely,
June Pyette, President
Branch 109
of second hand bicycles came in. Working
with Bicycles for Humanity, the Bicycling
Empowerment Network Namibia and
AUSAID, an agreement was drawn to set up
a bicycle workshop in Okatana.
In May, the Huron County container of
bicycles arrived in Okatana, with much
excitement.
In the weeks that have followed, modifica-
tions have been underway to transform the
shipping container into a bicycle sale and
repair centre. Currently, a skills training
course in bicycle mechanics and small busi-
ness management is taking .place for five
people who were previously unemployed.
The three women and two men who will
manage the bicycle workshop on behalf of
the Okatana home based caCe group will now
earn a regular income to provide for their
families.
Additional proceeds generated from this
bicycle workshop will benefit the activities of
the Okatana Home -Based Care Volunteers.
Overall, the entire community of Okatana
will benefit. People will now have access to
sustainable and economical transportation
options. In this area of Namibia, which is
generally flat and sandy, the bicycles will
Photos submitted
Racing bicycles that were donated to an
after school group who have a competi-
tive cycling program.
benefit those who, at one time, had no choice
but to walk long distances to do daily chores
= like collect firewood for cooking or water
for drinking.
Other bicycles will be donated to children
and other needy community members. You
can learn more about this project and other
bicycle projects in Namibia by visiting the
web site: http:// bikes2namibia.wordpress.
com.
At several meetings with the group ol
home-based care volunteers, I have been
asked again and again to express the deep
gratitude from the people of Okatana for the
generous gift to their community. People here
truly believe these bicycles can help bring a
positive change and begin to address some ol
the issues they are facing.
On a personal note, it has been 'inspiring tc
know there are many people with big hearts,
giving hands and willing spirits who took part
in this campaign. Through deeds of selfless
actiop, regular Huron Countians have .con-
tributed to transforming a community and
lives of people living half a world away.
Best regards,
Mark Nonkes
Windhoek, Namibia
Scout flag stolen from roadside
To the Editor;
Four words in the Scout Law are
"trustworthy," "kind," "considerate,"
and "wise."
Most of us make every effort to
ensure that we may be described as
such.
Unfortunately,' this past Tuesday, a
certain party was not at all trustworthy,
kind, considerate, or wise.
The last meeting of the year for the
4th Goderich Scout Troop took place at
a private camping area south of
Goderich. To assist parents with know-
ing exactly where to turn when deliver-
ing the youth, the Scout flag was placed
at the roadside on Orchard Line.
To our dismay, someone took our
flag. This is a blatant display of disre-
spect, not to mention a petty thing to do.
Perhaps the person(s) who stole our flag
should reconsider their actions and fol-
low the Scouting example; this flag has
been carried with pride for generations
by many a Scout.
We would really appreciate this flag
being returned.
Should the responsible party develop
a conscience and decide to do the right
thing, simply return the flag to the place
you found it.
Yours in Scouting,
Brad Smith