FTC CANADA MEDICAL TEAM GUATEMALA 2010 PRESENTATION

In November 2010, FTC Canada took a Medical Team to Guatemala.  The team provided medical and dental care to over 4000 people at 5 different locations just outside the capital Guatemala City.

The team went to a village just below the base of a recently active volcano.  They also went into a region that had been impacted by heavy rain and flooding.  The people the team saw were in desperate need of primary medical care.  Many were seeing a dentist for the first time in their lives.  For most this was a chance to get medications and treatment for ailments that really need more constant attention.  They were extremely grateful for this return visit.

The video/slide show below shows the team in action.  We set up in schools generally, transforming classrooms into clinics.  Doctors take two rooms, the dental team takes one room, pharmacy, distribution and for this trip, eyeglasses set up in their own rooms as well.  You will see all of this in the presentation below.

Thank you for your support.  Another team is preparing to head back into El Salvador for the third time in March (2011).  We will definitely see some of the same families again which is going to be a tremendous experience for everyone.  Please show your support CLICK HERE.

HIGH SCHOOLS MAKE A DIFFERENCE PT2

FTC Canada is deeply concerned that a lack of proper sleep for First Nation's children is detrimental to their development and health. Changes in sleeping habits can impair a child’s learning, memory and ability to concentrate. To try and address the problem of a serious shortage of adequate beds, FTC Canada has developed the First Nations Bunk Bed Program.

Meadowvale High School and West Credit High School in Mississauga are helping to implement such a vision, by partnering with several vendors in the Mississauga, ON and with FTC Canada. Together we are building bunk beds to send to First Nations communities north of Sioux Lookout, where conditions for families are deficient.

Please consider a gift towards the building of 300 beds by 2012!  CLICK HERE!

LOOKING AHEAD: MEDICAL TEAM TO EL SALVADOR MARCH 2011

The March 2011 Medical Team to El Salvador is comprised of medical and dental professionals: nurses, doctors, dentists, dental assistants, hygienists, paramedics and pharmacists. A small support staff will also accompanies the team to El Salvador.

This marks the third time FTC Canada has taken a Medical Team into the city and surrounding regions of the capital of San Salvador.

Through the medical programs (since Honduras 2007) we have developed long-term relationships with health care professionals in Central America.  Mentoring local medical and dental professionals has made a lasting impact.

How you can help?: Go to the Medical Team page (click here) to make a donation to the March Team to El Salvador.

Also, click here to open a promotional piece ~ please share this by email and on your social networks to share the news about what we are doing in Central America.

Thank You!

HAITI: BUILDING HOPE

On January 12, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Port au Prince, Haiti, with a devastating outcome. Aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater were recorded over the next 12 days, an estimated three million people were staggered.

To this day, families are living under tents, in what were meant to be makeshift, temporary, tent-cities. These "cities" are not a place to raise a family and the tents are not suitable structures.

WE WANT TO PROVIDE HOMES FOR HAITI

FTC Canada is currently preparing to build 10 homes! Click Here to see the plans (pdf file). A front level view is shown below.

Families lost their homes. Restore their hope, restore their future and give generously to this home building program. A year after the disaster, help families by giving them a roof over their head and restoring dignity. There is no way in the world they can do this on their own; they have lost everything!

It's your turn to bring new hope to Haiti!

CLICK HERE to help build hope!

HAITI TRIBUTE: TO MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE

This article was originally featured on this blog on April 16, 2010.

Ali Matthews is an accomplished Singer-Songwriter from Stratford, ON. Her love for creating and producing music has earned her respect from her peers and fans throughout North America. She is also a long time supporter and spokesperson for FTC Canada.

Her brother is Dr. Anthony Brown, FTC Canada Medical Team Advisor, who helped lead the very first FTC medical team to Honduras in 2007. In January, just days after an earthquake rocked Port-au-Prince Haiti, Dr. Brown was working diligently to secure medicines and supplies and coordinating plans with FTC to send a medical team to the country.

As Ali stood back watching all this unfold, she wondered how she might help too. In the best way she knew how, Ali headed into the studio to produce her own version of the Bob Dylan classic, "To Make You Feel My Love". When images started coming back from the team in Haiti, it was a natural next step to pair music and photos and share it with her fans. The following video can also be found on YouTube.

To learn more about Ali Matthews visit www.alimatthews.com

FIRST NATION BUNK BED PROGRAM: REPORT FROM MISH

Reports from the community of Mishkeegogamang, ON (Mish) indicate that the first 50 beds are assembled and that by all accounts, “It's been a great experience.”

Karen Ward, FTC Canada First Nations Programs, reported that her team of young adults, most from the Mish Adventure Summer Program, have had a truly amazing time helping assemble beds and seeing the immediate impact it is having.

Parents are appreciative, perhaps overwhelmed by the generosity of the gift of bunk beds.  One young person commented, “Lots of people come up to Mish - but I've never seen anyone do anything like you are doing - giving us beds to make sure the kids have a place to sleep.” He said it's such a blessing for his people.

You can be a part of this work in the far North.  Your gift will go immediately to helping ensure children are not sleeping on a cold floor this winter. Click here to go to the Bunk Bed donation page or click the button below to make your donation immediately.

 

AWARD WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER LENDS A HAND

It was a partnership that started back in 2005 and culminated in a song!  “After the Song” was penned by multi-award winning Singer-Songwriter, Ali Matthews and added to a reissue of her Christmas CD, “On Angels’ Wings”.

Ali Matthews

On Sunday December 5th Ali held her Annual Christmas Concert in support of FTC Canada. The event held in Stratford, Ontario, at the elegant Church Restaurant, was hotly anticipated by people far and wide and was packed out.

During the concert, Ali talked about how “After the Song” came to be.  In thinking about the struggles of others around world, she could not help but think that, once Christmas ended, those people were likely still struggling.  It became clear to her, and she wrote:

Finding the lost, feeding the hungry

The motherless child without a prayer

Ending the wars, calming the angry

And soothing the souls in despair

When we can love a world that’s broken apart

That’s when Christmas will start

Ali will donate a portion of her concert ticket sales to FTC Canada to support the ongoing work of feeding hungry children in Canada and around the world.

You can receive a copy of “On Angels’ Wings” for a $20.00 donation.  Just click the button below to donate now. Please share this post with your friends so they can enjoy this special offer.
(offer available to December 17, 2010: we can not guarantee delivery for December 25, 2010)

On Angels' Wings

2005 Seasonal Song Of The Year*: "On Angels’ Wings"

2006 Seasonal Song Of The Year*: "Brand New Miracle"

*GMA Canada Covenant Awards