For more information contact:
Karen Ward
First Nations Program Coordinator
1-877-382-2262 ext. 232
karen@ftccanada.org
Karen Ward
First Nations Program Coordinator
1-877-382-2262 ext. 232
karen@ftccanada.org
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
2009 First Nations Camp Staff Application
Please use the following links to find the 2009 First Nations Camp Staff Application and Camp Staff Information document.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Flying North
The President of FTC Canada and the First Nations Program Coordinator made a flying trip up north in December. Thunder Bay, Pickle Lake and Mishkeegogmang were among the stops in a 24 hour period.
CAMP IN 2009
Christmas cards and Candy Canes were dropped off at the school in Mish for all the campers who attended our ‘Mish Adventures’ Camp last summer. It was great to see children in the school hallways who said, “I know you. Are you coming back in the summer?”
It was great to be able to say “YES”. We will be back to operate our third year of Mish Adventures from July 13 – 30th, 2009. We are all very excited!
NEW IMPROVED WAREHOUSE SPACE
In Pickle Lake, we met with Tom Morris, the President of Wasaya Airlines. He has generously offered to donate warehouse space in Pickle Lake and assistance through his staff at that airport.
CAMP IN 2009
Christmas cards and Candy Canes were dropped off at the school in Mish for all the campers who attended our ‘Mish Adventures’ Camp last summer. It was great to see children in the school hallways who said, “I know you. Are you coming back in the summer?”
It was great to be able to say “YES”. We will be back to operate our third year of Mish Adventures from July 13 – 30th, 2009. We are all very excited!
NEW IMPROVED WAREHOUSE SPACE
In Pickle Lake, we met with Tom Morris, the President of Wasaya Airlines. He has generously offered to donate warehouse space in Pickle Lake and assistance through his staff at that airport.
We will now be able to ship more supplies and goods to reservations in the north, having overcome the space deficit we have experienced for 3 years. It is more convenient to fly cargo from this airport, as it allows for more frequent distribution of supplies to the many communities requiring assistance.
Thank you to Wasaya Airlines and our friends at Tikinagan Child and Family Services for making this happen.
Thank you to Wasaya Airlines and our friends at Tikinagan Child and Family Services for making this happen.
2009 Update
As winter settles deeply in the north, our First Nations friends have to deal with different issues and needs. Most children are back in school and, if available, involved in winter programs. Hockey is a very popular sport in the north and we are approached by many communities with requests for hockey equipment.
Through the passion and desire to help of one hockey mom, many children in the north will be playing hockey this winter. Jackie Jones, from Ancaster, Ontario, has raised awareness of the needs in the north and has hockey associations and sports stores very interested in helping out. Read the article from the Ancaster News at http://www.ancasternews.com/news/article/155323
FTC has shipped two truckloads north - one in October and one in December – for distribution to 30 communities in Northern Ontario. The goods shipped have included:
(Jackie Jones, North-South Partnership, Friends of Tikinagan Child and Family Services, Sheridan College)
Through the passion and desire to help of one hockey mom, many children in the north will be playing hockey this winter. Jackie Jones, from Ancaster, Ontario, has raised awareness of the needs in the north and has hockey associations and sports stores very interested in helping out. Read the article from the Ancaster News at http://www.ancasternews.com/news/article/155323
FTC has shipped two truckloads north - one in October and one in December – for distribution to 30 communities in Northern Ontario. The goods shipped have included:
- Juice and Food
- Hockey equipment and soccer balls
- Toys and Computers
- Blankets and knitted afghans
- Mittens, scarves, hats and sweaters
(Jackie Jones, North-South Partnership, Friends of Tikinagan Child and Family Services, Sheridan College)
Reflections on 2008
It’s hard to believe that over a month has passed since our team returned to Canada from Nicaragua. We are thankful for no sickness and total safety for our team during the eight days in this very needy country. We did have one frightening incident when our country director was kidnapped at gunpoint when our rental truck was stolen. He was able to escape by leaping from the back of the truck when it slowed for a curve in the road.
Reflecting on this mission, how blessed we are to be able to reach out with primary medical and dental care to over 3,000 children and families. Each clinic day we enjoyed the smiles on the faces of children when they received toys; the pleased and thankful expressions from mothers and fathers as we handed them parcels of food and clothing and shoes. The smiles and the word “gracias” will remain with all of us for a long time.
It is impossible for me to express my thanks in a meaningful way to our team. How do you say “thanks” to people who have given eight days of their lives to help others? The sacrifice made by our doctors, dentists, nurses, paramedics, school teachers, office workers and more.
I’m thankful for our Guatemalan staff that traveled many hours to be with us. It was not without its challenges – an overturned truck and many, many police checkpoints which delayed them several hours.
Our arrival at Toronto airport was a memorable end to the project. When I heard my name called over the PA system in the baggage area, I thought, “they probably lost my luggage”. That was not the problem – they had lost all our luggage – 32 pieces! Can you picture 28 of us standing around the luggage carousel wondering why we are the only ones from our flight still “standing around the carousel”? Well, we were told the luggage was still in San Salvador. It has not been transferred to our connecting flight. The good news – everyone received their bags four days later.
We never expect everything to go perfectly. You can become very frustrated about things that go wrong during the “heat of battle”, but on reflection, once you have time to relax and think about what was accomplished, you still feel a strong sense of having done a good thing. And we did!
Within days of our return we began to plan our next trip. Watch our site to be kept up to date on our mission to El Salvador in April 2009.
Thank you to all who have supported us in this project. We could not impact so many lives without your involvement. What we are doing is without a doubt “a team effort”.
Ken Dick
President
Reflecting on this mission, how blessed we are to be able to reach out with primary medical and dental care to over 3,000 children and families. Each clinic day we enjoyed the smiles on the faces of children when they received toys; the pleased and thankful expressions from mothers and fathers as we handed them parcels of food and clothing and shoes. The smiles and the word “gracias” will remain with all of us for a long time.
It is impossible for me to express my thanks in a meaningful way to our team. How do you say “thanks” to people who have given eight days of their lives to help others? The sacrifice made by our doctors, dentists, nurses, paramedics, school teachers, office workers and more.
I’m thankful for our Guatemalan staff that traveled many hours to be with us. It was not without its challenges – an overturned truck and many, many police checkpoints which delayed them several hours.
Our arrival at Toronto airport was a memorable end to the project. When I heard my name called over the PA system in the baggage area, I thought, “they probably lost my luggage”. That was not the problem – they had lost all our luggage – 32 pieces! Can you picture 28 of us standing around the luggage carousel wondering why we are the only ones from our flight still “standing around the carousel”? Well, we were told the luggage was still in San Salvador. It has not been transferred to our connecting flight. The good news – everyone received their bags four days later.
We never expect everything to go perfectly. You can become very frustrated about things that go wrong during the “heat of battle”, but on reflection, once you have time to relax and think about what was accomplished, you still feel a strong sense of having done a good thing. And we did!
Within days of our return we began to plan our next trip. Watch our site to be kept up to date on our mission to El Salvador in April 2009.
Thank you to all who have supported us in this project. We could not impact so many lives without your involvement. What we are doing is without a doubt “a team effort”.
Ken Dick
President
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
WELCOME
Thank you for taking the time to view the FTC Canada Corporate Blog
In some cases, change doesn't come quickly enough. This blog is a good example of that. However, we do hope to begin some more adventurous blogging fairly soon.
If you have been directed here, or discovered this blog at our FTC Canada website, we want to thank you for visiting. Thank you too for making an investment in the lives of hungry children in Canada and around the world.
In some cases, change doesn't come quickly enough. This blog is a good example of that. However, we do hope to begin some more adventurous blogging fairly soon.
If you have been directed here, or discovered this blog at our FTC Canada website, we want to thank you for visiting. Thank you too for making an investment in the lives of hungry children in Canada and around the world.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Day 5 Clinic
Yesterday was our last day to set up the clinic and this morning we pack and get ready for the plane ride home.
We anticipated that the number of people attending the clinic yesterday might be a little lower, but we were very surprised when we arrived and there were three people waiting. The smallest crowd we have seen waiting this week was about 50 and the biggest was around 300. The heat today, even early in the morning, was also the most oppressive we have experienced. Although the temperature was the same as other days, there was extreme humidity and absolutely no breeze; many of the clinic rooms felt like saunas.
The day started a little earlier for the dental team as we changed our logistics a little to allow them to begin treatments as soon as the set-up was complete. By that point the line had grown to 10 people and several needed dental work. We were up and running.
It would seem that slow and steady really does win the race. The line-up of 10 always stayed at 10 no matter how many we saw. By noon we had seen close to 300 patients.
Each community presented some uniqueness in terms of ailments. This area seemed to have the most diabetes and hypertension. Today we did an IV and stitches and attempted to educate people on the ill effects of constantly drinking pop instead of clean water. A steady diet of pop not only contributes to health issues like diabetes and hypertension, it is also the main reason their teeth experience so much decay.
As the day went on in the stifling heat, a small but consistent line persisted and by the end of the day we had seen 655 patients, 554 through medical and 101 through dental. This week we were fortunate to serve 3,114 patients. On our last night the Canadian contingent celebrated this success over dinner with everybody from the Guatemalan team and the host Nicaraguan team and the interpreters.
We extend a special thank you to all of our family, friends and FTC donors who have supported us. We will continue to post stories and pictures to this blog in the coming weeks and also provide updates on the next trip so please keep checking in.
The Children's Program Team:
Distribution Team
Dental Team
Medical Team
Pharmacy Team
We anticipated that the number of people attending the clinic yesterday might be a little lower, but we were very surprised when we arrived and there were three people waiting. The smallest crowd we have seen waiting this week was about 50 and the biggest was around 300. The heat today, even early in the morning, was also the most oppressive we have experienced. Although the temperature was the same as other days, there was extreme humidity and absolutely no breeze; many of the clinic rooms felt like saunas.
The day started a little earlier for the dental team as we changed our logistics a little to allow them to begin treatments as soon as the set-up was complete. By that point the line had grown to 10 people and several needed dental work. We were up and running.
It would seem that slow and steady really does win the race. The line-up of 10 always stayed at 10 no matter how many we saw. By noon we had seen close to 300 patients.
Each community presented some uniqueness in terms of ailments. This area seemed to have the most diabetes and hypertension. Today we did an IV and stitches and attempted to educate people on the ill effects of constantly drinking pop instead of clean water. A steady diet of pop not only contributes to health issues like diabetes and hypertension, it is also the main reason their teeth experience so much decay.
As the day went on in the stifling heat, a small but consistent line persisted and by the end of the day we had seen 655 patients, 554 through medical and 101 through dental. This week we were fortunate to serve 3,114 patients. On our last night the Canadian contingent celebrated this success over dinner with everybody from the Guatemalan team and the host Nicaraguan team and the interpreters.
We extend a special thank you to all of our family, friends and FTC donors who have supported us. We will continue to post stories and pictures to this blog in the coming weeks and also provide updates on the next trip so please keep checking in.
The Children's Program Team:
Distribution Team
Dental Team
Medical Team
Pharmacy Team
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