Tag Archives: charity

A Different Kind of Journey

March 2, 2016 ~j

Four years ago we were boarding a flight to New Zealand. Usually there’s a lot of prep that goes into planning a journey. From booking flights to packing, or learning a new language, there’s a lot of work, and that trip was no exception. Well, maybe a little easier than normal, Kiwi’s do speak English after all!

Language lessons typically start with vocabulary. An apple, a man, a dog, etc.; the curve goes up from there. I’ve done anything from learn by tape, to full university courses in a dozen or so different languages. I never expected that I’d be a travel companion through the cancer “journey” or have to learn the language of cancer.

Today, I’ve got some of the basics handled. For example, if you mentioned that someone had low hemoglobin I’d be worried about how tired they might be feeling, or if they’re low enough to need a blood transfusion. Or, if you told me someone had a low ANC, I’d know you were talking about their neutrophils, and their ability to fight infection. Basically how well they’ll cope with their surroundings and day-to-day germs that we all take for granted–like being able to go to the movie theatre, or touch a door knob, or get a paper cut.

Who would have though that we’d start speaking in prescriptions and chemo names and even shorten their names to make life easier? Ondansetron, Met, Dex, Vincristine, Docetaxel, Gemcitabine…the curve has been steep these past few months. I don’t know how my brother and his wife have become fluent so quickly, nor would I have ever wished they’d need such a skill. How lucky we all are that they are smart, caring, extraordinary parents. How lucky we all are that they’ve hurled through these terms for almost 5 months and we can use their acquired knowledge to get through medications and chemo here.

Despite so much chaos and craziness going on from appointment /medication schedules, I’ve seen an oasis of calm. About a month ago I had the pleasure of flying to Vancouver to look after Wyatt for the day while Ben was receiving treatment. Ronald McDonald House is outstanding! The most worrisome part of the trip was the germiness of the flight.

I certainly didn't touch this tray! — I certainly didn’t touch this tray!

Air plane germs freak me out when everyone in my life is healthy!!! Visiting someone who could be neutropenic made flying all the more terrifying. People depend on me for care; getting the common cold is not an option. Through conscious effort I didn’t touch anything on the flight except for the seat belt buckle. Ew Gross! (Thank-you makers of Purell hand sanitizer for making the flight bearable.)

I am so grateful for RMH. What an amazing place! Families worrying about their little ones should not have to face added stress and worry of accommodation in other cities, or even worse the torment of being separated from other family members while another is treated for illness. RMH eliminates that worry. The house really is gorgeous. The most lovely volunteers make the house exceptionally welcoming and warm.

Walking past the Arts and Crafts Room

TV for Family Movie Nights

Some of the facilities available at RMH

Part of the Kitchen

Submarine Aquarium

The Orca Lounge

Brothers kept together through the generosity of RMH

The Lego Lounge – pieces in those bins are sorted by colour.

Part of the kitchen

I’ve updated “Get Involved” to include Ronald McDonald House BC/Yukon. My family has directly benefitted from their generosity. Beyond RMH, I’ve included Canadian Blood Services. There is a shortage of blood across Canada (at the time of writing, there was less than 2 days supply of O-…that’s scary folks!). Please, please donate blood if you’re able! You’ll be saving someone’s life! That my friends is a true mark of the incredible kindness of friends and strangers.

♥
~j

ps: I promise this won’t be come about Cancer. It’s just a different type of travel we’re on now.

Turkey, Update

Turkey: Inspiration

September 3, 2015 ~j

We’re going to Turkey in just over a week! I promise to put the finishing touches on the Spain entries and get those finished up before we head out, but for now, take a peek at some of the sites we’ll see. (Thanks to Leonardo Dalessandri for the video!)

In prep I’ve done over 800 Turkish lessons and have discovered that I’m much better at reading and writing Turkish than I am speaking or hearing. So, basically if someone writes me a sentence I’ll be golden, but if they talk to me, not so much. Ha! At least a legitimate language attempt has been made not to be an ignorant tourist.

I’ve also been reading. Some good, some not so good. The good–the cats of Istanbul. The Hagia Sofia Cat is going to be my buddy. And, this one Why Istanbul Should be Called Catstantinople.

And this article about Gaziantep, a city close to the Syrian border…not so good. Or this happening at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul last week. Also not so good.

Judging by mainstream news, the security situation isn’t the best. Travel advisories have affected where we were planning to travel.

Just over a month ago, a tour that we had planned to take through Gaziantep and Sanliurfa was cancelled, so we had to quickly rework 5 days of the trip. Everything worked out though, and the trip will be amazing.

My worry is that my heart will break from the Syrian refugee crisis. There is no logical reason for children and families who have lived normal lives to be displaced by acts of war. Imagine living, just as you do now, and suddenly being completely uprooted from your home with no security or safety guaranteed–not to mention food, shelter, or basic sanitation supplies.

So, my search for charitable opportunities in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey we’ll be visiting continues. Any small thing that can brighten someone’s day is worthwhile.

“Just because it isn’t happening here doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.”
~j

New Zealand, Oceania

Dunedin: Home of the World’s Steepest Street

Gallery June 23, 2014 ~j Leave a comment

Dunedin, at the Southern end of the South Island of New Zealand, was our last city before heading back to Auckland for flights home. While there, I was fortunate to be able to catch up with an old friend that I’ve known since I was 5 years old. He’s been living in New Zealand with his wife and 2 children for quite a while now.

Dunedin is an awesome city. There’s something for everyone–architecture, nature, cuisine, history. It really was a great place to spend our last few days in NZ.

Dunedin Railway Station

St Joseph’s Cathedral, Dunedin NZ

First Church of Otago, Dunedin New Zealand

If you’ve spent any time with Fazh recently, I guarantee you’ve heard about Baldwin Street. Baldwin Street was among one of the many attractions of historic Dunedin that we were able to visit. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this street is the steepest street in the world. At its steepest section the gradient is 1 in 2.86. So for ever 2.86 meters traveled horizontally, the elevation changes by one meter.

Baldwin Street, The Steepest Street in the World

Every year there are people, CRAZY people who run to the top and back during the “Baldwin Street Gutbuster.” And, for annual charity events, up to 30,000 chocolate candies that look like orange gumballs are rolled down the street. Each of the orange “Jaffas” is purchased for charity prior to the big event. Prizes go to the person whose Jaffa reaches the bottom first. That’s about the only good thing that candy would be for. Chocolate and orange=gross! The video isn’t the best quality, but it’ll do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-AcBQRqwlM

We climbed to the top of Baldwin Street…IN THE RAIN, and gladly collected our certificates of achievement when we returned to the tiny shop at the bottom.

Have you encountered any odd World Records in your travels?
~j

Asia, Cambodia

Our Visit to the Cambodian Landmine Museum

January 30, 2012 ~j Leave a comment

For years my only knowledge of Cambodia was that there was a need for landmine removal. In the late 90’s, an uncle of mine was stationed there for landmine removal, and at the time, I thought nothing of it. Cambodia was a country that I never dreamed I’d be visiting. To have that opportunity now, so amazing!

Fast forward a decade and half…I’ve learned a lot more! From 1973 to 1997, Cambodia was under the terrorizing rule of the Khmer Rouge. Almost 2 million people died from starvation, exhaustion, lack of medical care, and execution. Between ’75 and ’78 approximately 100,000 people were executed.

People who didn’t conform to the “Peasant Ideal” were systematically executed. That means doctors, professors, lawyers, artists, business men, musicians, etc, etc. all killed. All traces of any unique thought or creativity were erased. Children, young children, were trained as soldiers. The Khmer Rouge was still in power until 1996 when the first elections were held, and weren’t removed until 1998. That said, Cambodia is relatively new to tourism.

Aki Ra and his organization devote all of their donated funds to clearing Cambodia’s rural “low-priority” villages. These villages, populated primarily by poor farmers, do not always receive first dibs for minefield clearance projects because of their remoteness and limited traffic. At times, they’re completely overlooked.

from: www.cnn.com

Over 5 million landmines were dispersed all over Cambodia. It is estimated that it will take about 100 years to clear them all. About 1 in 300 people is affected by landmines in Cambodia today. We visited the Cambodian Landmine Museum and spent a bit of time there, just trying to process what we were seeing. The story of Aki Ra was particularly moving. If you have time it is worth watching the video and reading the article.

Speaking to people our age, who had such uplifting, positive personalities was awe-inspiring. Many of our contemporaries are orphans with indelible psychological scars. And yet, Cambodians were some of the happiest, kindest, most welcoming people we’ve ever encountered.

The country is on the way to recovery, and it will be a long road still. A huge emphasis was placed on education and literature. The writing coming forward is a lot of personal accounts of survivors. One that I read on the flight home was a heart-breaking read– First they Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.

Anthropologists believe that the Khmer Rouge managed to do away with approximately 80 percent of the country’s literature, even using the National Library of Cambodia as a pig stall. Of the few remaining texts, most were saved because copies were stored outside the country, especially in ex-colonialist France, or by refugees who fled the country.

From: Granges et al. National Geographic Traveler Cambodia 2010 edition.

If you are in Cambodia, and spend any time in Siem Reap Town, be sure to visit the Landmine Museum. You’re able to donate to the cause at the facility. There’s a wish list of items on the website that you can pick up in any of the markets to deliver when you’re there too!

Please give if you’re able to help,

Peru, South America, Update

Hearts Café Happiness!

February 22, 2011 ~j Leave a comment

To say this weekend was kind of tragic would be an understatement. But, today I got a letter in the mail to lift my spirits. A while ago I sent a parcel to an NGO in Peru, Hearts Café; today, I received a response from Sonia! Happiness and love in an envelope.

“Thank you so much for the package, all so very useful for the children, so much is needed by our remote villages that your parcel is a very generous offering and much appreciated.

I am so pleased that you enjoyed the café, 6 of the women staff are from abused backgrounds, all of whom have come into their power now that they have confidence in their work and that they are the ones who go home with a pay packet!

I do hope this letter will reach you as you have not put your e-mail address.

With warmest best wishes,

Sonia”

I will certainly be sending more items to Hearts Café. You should too!

Sonia Newhouse
c/o Hearts Café
Plaza de Armas, Ollantaytambo
Cusco, Perú

Donations of school supplies, medicine, clothing etc are all needed. ps: Packages cannot weigh over 5kg, and all clothing must look clean and new or will be confiscated by customs. If you want to contact Sonia e-mail hearts.cafe@hotmail.com

Peru, South America

Hearts Café

August 9, 2010 ~j 1 Comment

Someone on a TripAdvisor forum had posted about Hearts Café. Jon knew I’d make him stop there as soon as he read about it. I’m a sucker for charity, especially one that helps women and children, so I couldn’t possibly say no.

Hearts Café is in Ollantaytambo, in one of the corners of the Plaza de Armas square. It is a small unassuming building, but I know it does amazing things for all sorts of people. Let me tell you, this little place moved me to tears. The story of the café’s origin and founder, Sonia Newhhouse, is just insane. It proves that one person really can make a tremendous difference. I’ve added the text from The West Australian Today article featuring the café:

76 Year Old British Woman who lost her heart in the Peruvian Andes
by Chris Olney, The West Australian Newspaper
June 21, 2007

There’s a small cafe in the corner of the plaza at Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, high in the Peruvian Andes, that offers a surprising selection of food.

Besides the best cappuccino in the valley, there’s quarter pounder veggie burgers, lasagna and farmhouse chicken casserole. Not the usual Andean fare.

But the food is not the only surprise at Hearts Cafe.

The driving force at Hearts is Sonia Newhouse, a 76 year old British woman who five years ago decided to cut her ties with the UK and travel to Peru. She arrived in Lima in 2002 with all her possessions packed into two suitcases.

“It was liberating,” she said. “I had no latchkey , no car. I had never been to Peru and I soon realised the first thing I needed to do was learn the language, so I enrolled in a Spanish School.”

Fellow students encouraged her to travel to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas. After 2 years, altitude sickness (Cusco is 3450m above sea level) forced her to move to the Sacred Valley, which is a few hundred metres lower than Cusco. There she became involved with the women living in six villages which make up the community of Huaran.

“I was shocked at how poor they are and how few resources they have,’ Mrs Newhouse said. “I decided I wanted to help them become more self sufficient and independent.”

“I formed a working group and asked them what they needed most”

“Of all the things they need they thought only of their children. They wanted a nursery school. It was very humbling”.

The women told her that a Spanish-language nursery school, or pre-primary, would give their children the chance to learn Spanish before attending Government Schools. They only know the native dialect, Quechua, at home. If the children could not speak Spanish they were at a disadvantage from their first day at school.

A mud hut has been allocated for a nursery school in Canchacancha, one of the six villages, catering for about 40 children. But the school needs a teacher and equipment.

That’s where Hearts Cafe comes in. The money raised by selling meals, tea and coffee will help pay for the nursery school. It’s a big ask. Mrs Newhouse estimates $US20,000 $23,600 a year is needed.

Although she has never run a cafe, Mrs Newhouse is a nutritionist and in the 1980s set up one of the first factories in London producing frozen vegetarian meals. She rented a shop in Ollantaytambo and opened Hearts in March. After seven weeks she had raised 1900 sols (about $480).

“I decided to spend this on much needed medicines for the women,” she said. “Many have serious gynaecological problems. We desperately need volunteer doctors and nurses.”

Mrs Newhouse is training local people to cook and run the cafe, which provides another source of income for families. But she spends every day there to make sure things run smoothly.

Ollantaytambo is en route to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu, and as the tourist season gets into full swing there is little doubt the cafe will do a roaring trade.

We stopped to eat at the café on the way to Aguas Calientes and on the way back to Cusco. Both times the food was great. Our server was super friendly, and he remembered us from our first visit. I only wish I’d been more prepared, and had brought school supplies or clothing with me instead of just a financial donation.

The NGO, Living Heart Association, is not a hand-out organization. They focus on education and self-help in the projects they’re running. So far, the café is responsible for a water purification project, a home for abused women and abandoned children, and medical support for people living in the Sacred Valley area. The café focuses on Educational Support, Nutrition Issues and Family Planning. They provide breakfast and lunch to 400 school children and abandoned elderly Peruvians every day!

Living Heart focuses on sustainable activities like growing vegetables in scholastic gardens. How many schools in North America have an organic garden on school grounds?! (Really, the kids here are fed nuggets and tater tots, or something equally vile, and have no clue how or where real wholesome food comes from.)

If you’re thinking of visiting Peru, or know someone who is, please tell them about this little place. It is truly a gem. Also, if you want to send anything to Sonia at Hearts Café the address is:

Sonia Newhouse

c/o Hearts Café

Plaza de Armas, Ollantaytambo

Cusco, Perú

this bird flies