From Concept to Reality
From Concept to Reality What should’ve taken us an hour to drive through the city of Manila, took us three! My friend & I decided to rent a car to do some sightseeing before our meetings – day one was easy, breezy & relaxing – exactly what we had hoped to get over jet lag. Day two was gruelling and I almost gave up hope, except for the fact that we had a meeting with staff from Food for the Hungry Philippines and they had arranged a meeting with the mayor of Navotas City! Thankfully, my friend has lived in Nigeria and is an expert at driving through crowded streets while avoiding people and the occasional goat. He drove through Manila traffic and I navigated. We were still stopped twice by police & had his driver’s license confiscated. We paid a hefty fine to get his license back the first time, but we weren’t so lucky the second. Google maps gave us the wrong destination at first, but we finally rerouted to Navotas City Hall. We were 5 minutes away when we came to a blocked road. A kid moved the blockade so we drove down the narrow street, barely missing the many obstacles in the way. We realized too late that there was a gaping hole in the road at the far end with no way around it. We couldn’t turn around and there was no way we could drive backwards all of the way back down the street. After trying to turn around, we gave up and jumped out to rebuild the road!We were quite a sight in our business clothes shifting the blockade and pile of rocks blocking the road. A small crowd gathered and spoke to me in Tagalog. They all watched as we tried to fill the hole with cement blocks, but the hole was way too deep. Thankfully, a police officer came to our rescue and miraculously found a metal plank to lay over the hole. The men in the crowd then jumped in to help reinforce the plank for us to safely drive across. After saying thank you as often as I could, I jumped in the car and we sped off.As soon as we arrived at City Hall, the FH Philippines staff recognized us immediately and took good care of us. Meeting the mayor was wonderful – he is very grateful and supportive of their work in the troubled areas of his city.Our next stop was a high school where they have a food program for the least nourished children. I was so impressed by the selection process of the children and how the staff determine what they need, but also train the parents, teachers, local government and churches on how to care for them physically, academically, spiritually and emotionally as a community. FH Phil Children The children from the food program were assembled together. The principal explained how Food for the Hungry helped the children achieve their academic goals and highlighted their school as one of the best in the region. My friend nudged me to check out the stage – they painted a huge banner across the platform to welcome me! I then looked and saw the agenda included an ‘inspirational message’ with my name next to it. Gulp!!! School BannerWhat a pleasure to meet the children, parents, teachers and FH staff. Their dedication is obvious. Their time with this specific neighbourhood is coming to a close, but they are already working to increase ownership & leadership from within the community to continue the work when they leave. It Takes a Village This day was certainly a comprehensive glimpse into what Food for the Hungry does on the field just a month after joining the Food for the Hungry Canada board. This trip has enormously helped me transfer food poverty concepts into reality. I’m thankful for the competent and faithful staff in the Philippines for showing me how things work in their country as they impact numerous economically under-resourced communities and hundreds of real lives. Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event… Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against…
Food for the Hungry & a Trip to Manila
Food for the Hungry & a Trip to Manila Confession: I have a crush on The Oatmeal. He makes me laugh…every time! To know him is to love him! If you’re in conversation with me, my eyes will inevitably brighten and I’ll say, “It’s like that Oatmeal cartoon! You know, the one where…” The reason why I like him so much is the way he finds humour in daily situations. Also, he portrays himself as a pudgy, nondescript guy when he’s actually quite handsome. He’s coming to do a book signing in Toronto in 2 weeks and my best friend in the world kindly let me know. They’re both THE. BEST. All this is a relatively long-winded intro to the nature of this post: I’m plugging Food for the Hungry Canada in large part because I’ve just been named to their Board. It’s a 3 year commitment, which means regular trips to Vancouver. Yes! Of course, it’s part of the somewhat obvious virtuous circle: I wouldn’t have been named to their Board if I wasn’t very willing to plug what they do, etc etc. My hope is the more I get to know them, the more I will love what they do and represent them well. FH Canada, part of the global Food for the Hungry association, is a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to ending poverty – one community at a time. We are currently working with 10 developing communities in 10 countries around the world. In order to eradicate poverty and create sustainability, FH Canada uses an integrated approach including projects in agriculture, education, health, leadership and gender equality in an effort to meet the physical, spiritual, social and educational needs of each man, woman and child living in poverty. Here is where things get exciting! I’m off to Manila for leadership meetings with the World Evangelical Alliance next month. FH Canada has a 10 year commitment to the Navota community right in Manila. The president has consequently arranged for me to see the work on the ground. I’m thrilled to meet the national staff, better understand how things work and see the impact of the project on the entire community. I’m really happy to be serving on this Board for the next 3 years! Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event… Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against…
Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close
Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against Team USA in both the mixed and open brackets and came away with very respectable silver medals and bronze for the women. I was proud to have been called upon to coordinate the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. It was also a pleasure to work closely with members of the Toronto Ultimate Club, many of whom I admire for their dedication to the sport of Ultimate and their smarts to pull off a world class event. Here are a few photo highlights of the experience. It’s been an exciting season for the sport of Ultimate, which also saw the Toronto Rush, Toronto’s first professional Ultimate team face off in the American Ultimate Disk League. 2013 was their inaugural year to enter the professional league and became the 2013 champions! Rumour has it that the Toronto fans are the biggest and loudest. I couldn’t be more proud of the spirit of global sportsmanship embodied in Toronto. You can watch the highlights here. Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event Coordinator for… Food for the Hungry & a Trip to Manila Confession: I have a crush on The Oatmeal. He makes me laugh…every time! To know him is to love him! If you’re in
See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously.
See my handiwork firsthand next Sunday. And ceremoniously. Canada vs. Australia at the last World Ultimate Under-23 Championships (Florence Italy, 2010) I’m very proud to be Event Coordinator for the Opening & Closing Ceremonies for the Ultimate World Under-23 Championships taking place next week. There will be 900+ athletes competing from 38 teams and 17 countries. This should be exciting to watch. The Opening Ceremonies next Sunday (July 21) are free to the public. They’ll be a wonderful opportunity for you to see firsthand a project I’ve been working on. They’re also a chance to support and cheer on Canada’s finest (or any other country’s finest, if you’re so inclined) in Ultimate (in short, Frisbee football, a sport I avidly participate in). The WFDF Ultimate World Under-23 Championships Opening Ceremonies take place 3-5PM, Sunday, July 21 at York University. The fields are just west of York Stadium, on the south side of Steeles. I look forward to seeing you there! Can’t make it in person? Live webcast is slated to go live immediately after the Opening Ceremonies. Please see the official website for more info. Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Link Happy Endings: Ann’s first blog post Drawing a World-Class Sporting Event to a Close The Ultimate World Under-23 Championships in Toronto was a fantastic event. Team Canada made the final round against Food for the Hungry & a Trip to Manila Confession: I have a crush on The Oatmeal. He makes me laugh…every time! To know him is to love him! If you’re in