A Lot Sure Has Changed

Last week was the 20^th anniversary of a failed coup by hard line communists that attempted to overthrow the Russian government, under Mikhail Gorbachev, which marked the beginning of the fall of the Soviet Union. As part of the Soviet break up Ukraine declared its independence and this week (August 24^th) Ukrainians will mark the 20^th anniversary of their own nationhood. Having come back from Ukraine just over a month ago I had another one of those who’d a thunk moments of how much has changed in 20 years.

In the 1970’s my grandparents had a housekeeper named Shirley whose parents were from Ukraine. They had left there illegally years before and found their way to Canada to live. (Shirley was born in Canada.) While Shirley was working for my grandparents her father had made special arrangements to go back to Ukraine to visit his family and take Shirley with him to see where he was from. Because he had left Ukraine illegally, under the Soviet regime he had to get a lot of special permissions and wade through a lot of red tape in order to go back for a short visit.

When they got there they were only allowed to go to certain places and their movements were restricted. I remember Shirley telling us how they disguised themselves with rain gear and goggles to take a motorcycle trip to see some of the country. She also told of how their family would turn the radio on in the kitchen and then they would all go to the living room to (quietly) ask about life in Canada.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, when we were kids growing up in the 1970’s we never even thought of travelling to a former Soviet country. We never even thought there would be a former Soviet Union. When I was preparing for my trip to Ukraine this year all I needed was a valid passport and an airline ticket. Then when we got there we went where we pleased and talked about whatever we wanted without any kind of restriction. (Well, except for security reasons you can’t take pictures in certain parts of the Kiev Metro system.) We travelled around the countryside and saw an amazing country and met some amazing people.

Ukraine is a beautiful country and it’s very easy to see why the Ukrainian immigrants to Canada felt so at home when they got here. The scenery in Ukraine looks like either a larger version of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley or like the prairies in Saskatchewan – complete with wheat fields. Even the vegetation in both countries is identical with the same types of trees, weeds, everything.

So yes a LOT has changed in 20 years in Ukraine for the better. To the people who I now call my brothers and sisters in Ukraine, I wish you all a happy Independence Day and pray even greater things for your future. Я люблю тебя!

Shirley bought the spoon on the left for my Grandmother. The word painted on it is pronounced karpaty which is what the Carpathian Mountains are called in Ukraine. I couldn't resist buying the "post Soviet era" spoon on the right.

Soviet Mother Motherland statue that is part of the memorial park in Kiev for the Great Patriotic War (WW II).

Monument to Berehynia in Independence Square, Kiev.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berehynia

Thank You

Thank you to those who helped to make some dreams of 114 orphans come true. We were in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine between July 4^th and 13^th and were very busy helping to facilitate these dreams. Over three days we took three busloads of kids from Sunshine Orphanage to a picnic park for the day for swimming, games and a lot of fun. (I’m not sure if the kids had more fun or us.) We also took them to McDonald’s over several days.

To these kids a day in the park and McDonald’s is a HUGE deal and will not be forgotten by them anytime soon. It was sooooo amazing to be able to be a part of this and I won’t forget this anytime soon either. Because of all of the generosity we surpassed our fundraising goal and were also able to leave a donation to the ongoing and amazing work of Loads of Love. If you would still like to make a difference in a child’s life you can still donate by clicking the link for Loads of Love at the side of the blog. If you like you can also make some dreams come true in Kyrgyzstan by clicking the link for Act of Kindness.

Again thank you so much to those who gave. Here is a small sampling of photos from our days in Krivoy Rog. Please excuse the shaky video but you’ll get a good view anyways.

Can you help?

As some of you know, I am heading to Ukraine this summer for two weeks to spend time with some amazing children at Sunshine Orphanage in a city called Krivoy Rog. There are 13 of us who are partnering with an organization called Loads of Love.

We have an amazing opportunity to make a small dream come true for these 114 orphans. We are hoping to go to the Park/Beach for a day of swimming, games and laughter. As well, we will make a special visit to McDonald's, which is a great privilege for Ukrainian orphans.

Would you be willing to help? I am looking for 10 people to sponsor a child for $10, which will cover the cost of transportation to the beach and food for the day. I will be taking pictures of our adventure to share with you once we return. If you would like a tax receipt, please let me know and please have your donation to me by June 24th.

To find out more about the heart of what we will be doing in Ukraine, please view this video made by Amanda Goodine:




Thanks sooo much for considering this opportunity to make a difference in the life of a child!

Blair

Have You Thanked a Vet Lately?

Recently my church played host to Dr Philip Riteman who is a Jewish holocaust survivor born in Poland. Dr Riteman was captured by the Nazis in 1939 at age thirteen and endured the most hellish things, which human beings should never have to go through, in Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps. As he put it about these horrors, “I hope you never have to find out.” More information about Dr Riteman can be found here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Riteman

All of my life I was taught about the Nazi atrocities, saw the archival footage and the taped survivor interviews, as well as the movies that many said were very accurate portrayals. My Dad’s best friend was a soldier who helped to liberate a camp in I think Belgium. (He didn’t talk about it.) I’ve read books, seen the photos and many different accounts of all of this but seeing Dr Riteman in person giving his own account hit me in a way that none of these other accounts did before. Until now I thought I understood how bad things were.

Looking into those eyes that saw first hand what happened, and then seeing the number tattoo when he rolled back his sleeve as he was describing things, like what happened inside of the freight car on the way to Auschwitz, in common everyday no beating around the bush English brought this to a new reality for me with a huge slap. There are a lot of things that do not translate from video, photos and even history books and now I’ll never see these things the same way again. We usually think of the six million Jews who were exterminated but Dr Riteman also mentioned that twenty million Christians, twenty-five million Gypsies (who were mostly Roman Catholic) and many others were murdered on top of all of this as well as all of the Allied soldiers that died fighting. That is a LOT of humanity snuffed out by evil.

I’m not going to go into much of his story because there is no way I would do it any justice. Dr Riteman has written a book called “Millions of Souls: The Philip Riteman Story” that tells it. http://www.flankerpress.com/millions_souls.shtml He also travels around to schools and other venues telling his story to educate people, especially the youth. If he comes to your town don’t miss this opportunity!

Dr Riteman also told us that people living in Canada, The United States and Great Britain have never had to live like this and will never know what it’s like. The Nazis wanted to take over the whole world and it’s because of our veterans who fought and died that we won’t have to. He admonished us to thank our veterans.

When I see the recent events unfolding in the Middle East it’s more important than ever for the newer generations to learn of the past atrocities. If we forget our history we will repeat it – God forbid!

Thank you so much to all of our veterans!!

Thank You

Thank you to all of those who donated to the Christmas pie challenge. We exceeded our goal of Christmas parties for 2000 children. Thanks again and bless you all. You can see the totals here. http://actofkindness.blogspot.com/ Here is the video of me getting my pie.

Christmas Pie Challenge

The Christmas pie challenge has started. So here's what's going on. I helping to raise funds with Act of Kindness and Lamb International that will provide Christmas parties for children in Kyrgyzstan.

Christmas in a Kyrgyzstan orphanage can be just another day with nothing special about it. Many orphanages have very little funding available for any extras let alone a Christmas party. We can make a difference to help kids have a special day. It costs only $5.00 per child to supply a special day for these wonderful kids who are so deserving of a little love.

For more information and to make a tax deductible donation please take a look at the following link.

http://actofkindness.blogspot.com/ On the right side of the page are donation buttons for Canada & the US and a tracker for the totals. When donating, please put "pie for Blair" in the memo box.

Once donations credited to me reach $500.00 I will take a pie in the face for the kids and the video will be posted. We'd really appreciate your help. I WANT PIE!!!!! I didn't get pie last year...I was sooo close :(

This challenge runs until December 13th. Please have your donation submitted before then.

Thank you on behalf of the kids.

Blair

Counting My Blessings

Well it’s another Thanksgiving Day here. With working for an American company it’s so nice to have a Canadian holiday off for once instead of working when everyone else is off. So...I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to reflect and count all of my blessings.

It has been busy this year for sure. I have paid off the student loans finally. That was a miracle in itself. The loan was originally on nine year terms and despite several bouts of unemployment and having the terms redone several times I still paid them off in April…seven months early.

I managed to get to Zambia and back in May where we got to work with some amazing people with Hands at Work Africa who do great work with HIV stricken communities. I also had an amazing birthday in Livingstone where I got to fly over the famous Victoria Falls in a micro light plane and went on a dinner cruise on the Zambezi River.

I managed to get a TESL teaching certificate and I’m about 1/3 through another course in my preparations to go to Kyrgyzstan. I just wish this process would go much quicker. The big hurdle now is the fundraising (any fundraising ideas and sponsorship will be well appreciated) but I know I’ll be equipped at the right time. I just need more patience I guess.

This is just a sampling of my many blessings so far this year. I hope you all have a lot to be thankful for as well. Happy Thanksgiving! Я люблю тебя! (Ya lablue va!)

Burning the student loan papers

My Journey Is Still Going to Happen

This past Sunday I returned home from a trip to Kabwe, Zambia. It was an amazing trip with much that was accomplished as well as a lot of laughs (and a few tears) with some great people on the trip and with the people we met. Even though a piece of my heart is in Kabwe my life is still in Tokmok.

I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between Kyrgyzstan and Zambia. There are dire needs in both countries which have extreme poverty, children without parents who need more role models and seniors who struggle to survive. Some people here seem to think that conditions in one country are worse than the other. There are a few (very basic) differences but they are both the same overall. All I can think about is “When can I get things lined up to leave my job and get out of here?” I have felt like a foreigner in Canada for the last three years.

Now that my loans are paid off there is much to do to get ready. I have to raise funds, get visas and so many other logistics. This summer I will be going to get my TESL certificate and this fall I will be taking a course that will help me prepare for my journey. All of this while working full time. My schedule is going to be gruelling and I’ll probably be cranky (okay…more cranky than usual). I ask you my friends and family to stand behind me as this next phase in my life gets going. My journey is still going to happen…believe it!! Thanks for your ear.

Who’d a Thunk! – Part 2

Today is Boxing Day in Canada. I survived another Christmas Day and I’m looking forward to the next week off from work. This morning I had the pleasure to talk to a dear friend Anya in Kyrgyzstan via Skype. After I finished speaking with her I had another “Who’d a thunk” moment that I thought I’d share.

When I was growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s Skype was unheard of, let alone the internet, email, instant messaging, etc. When we were kids a long distance phone call was a big deal. This was a time when we paid long distance charges from Hammonds Plains to a neighbouring community of St. Margaret’s Bay.

In the late 1970’s long distance calls within Canada were around 90¢ per minute. Now with internet about $50.00 per month we can talk for an unlimited time with video as well as share photos instantly. On Christmas Eve I was talking with Dad in Florida and sent him an email with photos while we were on the phone. His inbox dinged literally as soon as I clicked send. Even as I type this I’m listening to a radio station from St Johns, Michigan, again unheard of before the internet.

It seemed so weird to me that I could show my Christmas tree live to Anya who at the same time was able to ask me questions about some of my ornaments and about Christmas in Canada. She was also quite pleased to see a small Kyrgyz hat (called a kalpak) hanging on it, that I had purchased when I was there in 2007. A kalpak is a traditional felt hat that is worn by men in Kyrgyzstan. I also gave her a quick tour of my apartment so that she could see some of the other decorations. My tiny cramped apartment is quite fancy she said.

When we were kids it was unheard of to pick up a notebook computer and walk around the house with it (wirelessly at that) and show someone on the opposite side of the world live video of whatever you want to show them. In the 1970’s we had to wait ten days for photos from our camera to be developed (hoping that the pictures would turn out) and then another 10 days to several months for the mail to deliver them to an international destination. Also, a computer hard drive at that time could take up the entire floor of an office building – pretty hard to lift!

In my time on this earth so far technology has changed so fast that I can’t even keep up. I can only imagine how much change my parents and grandparents have seen in their lives. I mentioned in a previous blog how I never thought I would go to a country in the former Soviet Union or that there would even be a former Soviet Union amongst other things. The more I think of these things the more amazed I am. It’s a small world after all.

Anyways…it’s just a thought. (A thought that probably won’t mean much to the under forty crowd, but will be more significant to my age and older.)

The kalpak is on the left.

May you all have a blessed and amazing new year!

Я тебя люблю! (Yellow blu vas!)

Thank You

For those of you who donated to the Christmas party fundraiser for the children in Central Asia, thank you so much. You have made a difference in the lives of some kids who desperately need to see that someone cares. They will remember this for a long time.

If you haven't donated yet and still want to, you can still take part. Just click the title of this blog and you can go to Act of Kindness at http://actofkindness.blogspot.com/ and support some great ongoing projects that Possibilities International has for orphans, seniors, physically challenged as well as the disadvantaged in Central Asia. The need is huge and is more than just at Christmas time. Thank you again.