Huron Expositor, 2005-12-07, Page 4Page 4 December 7, 2005 • The Huron Expositor
Editorial
Opinion
Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1W0
The season.
of giving is
in full -swing
During a season that all too often seems to
deteriorate into one of "gimmee, gimmee,"
Seaforth residents have plenty of opportunities
to give this year.
As the Huron County Christmas Bureau gets
into full swing this week, donations are already
pouring in so that disadvantaged children and
their families have some toys, new clothes and
groceries to help with the financial strain of the
season.
A new twist on giving that is becoming more
and more common is birthday and anniversary
celebrations where the celebrant turns down any
gifts for him or herself and asks instead for dona-
tions to local charities. And, the Christmas
Bureau is benefitting from that trend.
As well, community members have the oppor-
tunity to help a local family who escaped their
home with their lives but nothing else during a
house fire last week.
An account has been set up at Desjardins
Credit Union where cash, household items, cloth-
ing and toys for the Roden family's two grand-
children are being accepted.
And, Central Huron Secondary School students
are being given the chance to become global citi-
zens as graduate Jessica Bokhout raises money.
to send Zambian orphans, who have lost their
parents to the African AIDS epidemic, to school.
Community members also gave their life's
blood Monday in memory of Mackenzie Fisher,
more than a dozen of whom gave blood for the
first time at the Canadian Blood Services clinic.
While the willingness to give is nothing new
around here, it's always heartwarming to see the
physical evidence of this community's generosity.
Susan Hundertmark
Your Community Newspaper Since 1860
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Western world doesn't
understand African AIDS crisis
There are so many peo-
ple in this world that say
they want to change the
course of the future. They
say they will influence
how people think and how
they live their lives.
War and discrimination
will end, peace will begin,
and the whole world will
be declared free.
This, however, will never be a reality. There
is no way to alter the world to take another
direction.
But, you don't have to change the way the
earth evolves around the sun in order to
make a difference in someone's life.
The crisis of AIDS occurring in Africa is
looked at by government and individuals as
happening "over there."
People see war and poverty on the evening
news and say that it is terrible, but go right
back to eating their dinner.
There is no direct impact on the people of
"the West" because we do not understand the
implications of what is happening.
A recent graduate of Central Huron
Secondary School has, however, dared to step
out of that crowd. She has entered a whole
new world compellingly different and so much
scarier than our own.
Jessica Bokhout has been living , in the
African environment and has talked with the
by Ashley
Eddie
hat's the point of cutting
the grass, when it's just
going to grow again
people about their suffer-
ing.
She has seen their chil-
dren begging for food, and
has gone to sleep hearing
babies crying because of
the lack of nutrition.
Bokhout has been
keeping the CHSS commu-
nity up-to-date on what is
going on in Lusaka and at the Kondwa
Centre where she works with 90 orphaned
children due to AIDS.
I have also had the pleasure of reading a
few e-mails that Jessica has sent to her past
teachers of CHSS, explaining what it is like to
live in Africa.
In one of her first e-mails, she talked about
the dust and garbage on the sides of the
roads.
The image she painted was a hurting, crum-
bling city where the smoke makes the blue
sky a hazy, smoggy gray.
When I contacted Jessica, I asked her what
it's like to be with the children every day.
I wondered if it would make her feel sad
and hopeless, or if she would be inspired to
make a difference.
She said that even despite their hardships,
the children are just regular silly kids who
just want someone to play games with them
See DESPITE, Page 24
I've had enough of
this! I'm going in
for lunchl
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