Posts filed under ‘community’
Update on Mat Project for Haiti – Part 1
(Above) Milk Bag mat made by Norman Yost. Photo by Violet Ropp
Updates and News from Northwest Haiti Christian Mission Canada
In February 2010, I wrote my first blog piece on recycling milk bags for the project Mats for Haiti. Soon after that, I was connected with Violet Ropp by a fellow writer, Jan Cox. When I spoke to Violet, I offered my blog as an information place for people wishing to become involved with this project, so they could connect with those already working on mats. Since then, I have received many messages and observed countless searches for that information on my blog.
In February 2012, Violet Ropp sent me news of changes, and so it’s time to update that information. The Mat project for Haiti is now connected to an organization called Ontario Gleaners, located in Cambridge, Ontario.
When other items are shipped to Haiti from that location, the milk bag mats are used as packing. Therefore, the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (NWCHM) prefers the mats that are rolled and tied with plastic milk bag strips.
In February 2012, more than 500 mats were sent to Dunnville so they could be shipped to Haiti. All the mats previously stored in facilities in New Hamburg, Stratford, Linwood, Milverton and Brunner have been moved to a facility in Dunnville for NWCHM.
It appears as though the Mennonite Central Committee does not accept or support the use of milk bag mats for their work in Haiti. Shelley Stone, Manager of Ontario Gleaners, recently wrote that some people have been confused about the usefulness of the mats.
“The only time mats cause trouble,” wrote Tina Leslie, Executive Director of Haiti Christian Mission, “is if they are made from shopping bags, or some other plastic. The milk bags do not deteriorate so fast in the tropical sun. Where mats are made from other kinds of bags, the plastic flakes off and blows around like a snowy litter in the wind.” Therefore, it seems that the milk bags are still the best material for making mats.
To Ontario Gleaners’ manager, Tina wrote: “Thank you for being a collection spot for the wonderful people who make them… We pray for each one who labours long hours to provide a clean, comfortable place for people to sleep.” She also reminds us that when we minister to people in need, we are ministering to the Lord. (Matthew 25:40)
Seee Part 2 next week on current groups making mats
Ontario Gleaners, 1550 Morrison Road, Cambridge, Ontario.
Open Monday to Friday, from 8am until 1pm. Please phone ahead if you need to drop off your finished milk bag mats outside of those hours. Contact Shelley Stone, Manager, at (519- 624-8245)
Northwest Haiti Christian Mission Canada
Website: www.nwhcm.ca
Phone: 905-774-7021
Tina Leslie tina.leslie@nwhcm.ca
Contact Violet Ropp for information on preparing mats and active groups. (chviropp@porchlight.ca)
Waterloo Region Museum, Part 2
A theatre for special events such as speakers and the storytelling series that’s going on for the second season. A partition with doors tucks into the wall and closes this theatre off from the lobby.
A two-sided screen and a slide show of immigrants coming to Canada by boat.
I’ll stand and look at the all the pictures next time.
Wall display of trunks and cases that carried worldly belongings of people who came to Canada.
A reproduction of a painting. People used Conestoga wagons as their means of travel in earlier days. This display was up on a wall and I couldn’t get the painter’s name. Next visit.
An old bell tower, next to a bricked facade of a building.
One more pic for Part 2
A model of Professor Jenkins and his bicycle on the high wire on which he crossed the gorge and Niagara Falls. To think we had someone so daring!
It turns out, he was pretty smart and had much of the risk removed, something most people wouldn’t have known. Imagine the awe and excitement of people watching him cross, wondering if he’d fall off the wire, bicycle and all and into the water hundreds of feet below.
Not for me, this daring feat!
There’s much more to see at this attractive new museum. I hope you’ll come to see it soon. Go here for more information.
Saturday Snapshot– Waterloo Region Museum
On the inside of the museum looking out through a floor-to-ceiling window. See how the track goes straight through? The museum is built right over the old rail line, but the steam engine doesn’t run anymore.
A wheel called Hazel, built in 1908 to provide steam power to local manufacturing.
An original Conestoga wagon
For more on the museum, check back in a few days.
To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. At Home With Books.
Celebrating Stories That Connect Us in Waterloo Region– Part I
Front entrance to Museum, off Homer Watson Boulevard
On November 12, and 13th, Waterloo Region celebrated the grand opening of the new Museum with an opening ceremony and Jazz concert on Saturday and open exhibits to the community on Sunday.
The Museum, new gateway to the Doon Heritage Village, has been long in the planning. Many historical artifacts, now on display for the public to see, have been stored away in a variety of places, waiting for such a building to house them. While the main lobby,, meeting rooms and theatre have been in use for more than a year, the exhibit area opened officially this weekend.
The coloured glass panels on the outside of the building represent the stitching on a quilt, assembling many pieces to make a whole quilt. The colours were selected from quilts to be shown in the museum and the pattern shown here by the front door spell out names of the municipalities of Waterloo Region. Planners put a great deal of thought into the design, but I’ll let you learn more about that on a tour of your own.
“The museum is located at the intersection of two transportation routes that crossed this property in the 19th and 20th centuries,” say the words in the program.
Indeed there is a railway track running straight through the lobby of the museum. In the photo above, you can see the steam engine in the village, and though it looks as though the train might go right on through the building, the engine sits there, quiet and still, and a pane of glass and some distance separates it from the interior.
The track inside is under clear flooring, the steel rails and the wooden ties. One can walk down this track without worry.
Floor-to-ceiling windows allow people in the lobby to see the historic village outside.
On this special opening weekend, a young harpist wows and relaxes us with her music.
Come back in a few days for Part II of my feature on the new Waterloo Region Museum. Until then, go here for more information.
Canadian Authors Who Are Christian
I blog once a month at Canadian Writers Who Are Christian. We are a group of authors from The Word Guild, sharing our faith and life experiences. This morning was my turn to post. My blog piece is entitled “Award Winner.” Go here.
Once Upon a Sandbox–My book is out
After months of writing and editing, submissions, waiting, and more editing, my book is out. Once Upon a Sandbox is a narrative in prose and poety about life on a family farm in the 50s and 60s.
If you’ve grown up in a rural area, you will identify with many of my family’s experiences. If you’ve grown up in a city or a small town, you’ll appreciate the need to work together to get essential chores done. You will laugh at the antics of children and pets, understand the ties of family, as well as learning about the challenges and rewards of living on the land. Come and join me on a voyage of memories.
I’ll post updates here as book signings and events are planned. For more information or to purchase a book, please contact me.
Cover art by Deborah Pryce
Memoir writing
I’ve been reading Country Roads: Memoirs from Rural Canada by such writers as Luanne Armstrong. Laura Best, Pamela Wallin, Ruth Latta, Gordon Tootootsis, Kay Parley, Wayne Johnston, Pamela Banting, Keith Collier, Rudy Wiebe and many others. Accomplished writers all, with a gift of words that can take you to a place and show you around.
They write from across Canada, stories of longing for the country, stories of challenge and returning to the place of birth, if only for a visit. The authors reflect on the lens one develops from having lived in a place, whether of freedom, poverty or satisfaction.
Read it, whether you’ve come from rural Canada or always lived in a city. Read it, and discover the stories within.
Editor Pam Chamberlain, published in 2010 by Nimbus Publishing.
Loom Rollers and Groups Making Mats for Haiti
My post in 2010 about Mats for Haiti has brought 35 responses, which have included people sharing information, a school saving bags for the project, individuals looking for bags to start a mat-making project, people wanting to share bags they’ve collected, as well as requests for information on making the bags.
In the process, fellow writer Jan Cox connected me with Violet Ropp, also in Ontario, who has been active in facilitating mat-making groups. She knows two individuals who cut the bags and have come up with their own cutting tools.
One group that makes mats from milk bags went to a school and showed them the cutting tool and how it works. People at the school had collected 1000 milk bags for the project. Violet allowed me to share the photos on my blog that it may help other groups.
Photo one—”Roller Loom” [made by an area man] and Photo two—Milk Bag being cut
In the interest of helping other groups, the Woodlawn Group has provided construction details for the loom for those who wish to make their own loom.
Loom Dimensions:
Dressed Lumber 2 — 2 x 8 x 20 inches sides
1 — 2 x 8 x 27 inches bottom
1 — 2 x 4 x 25 inches for stabilizer at bottom insert.
4 — 1 1/2 inch x 20 inches to create grove for PVC pipes
4 — 1 1/4 X 3 inch slats (to place under PVC pipes)
Long screws to screw the bottom and sides together. Add glue before tightening.
Short screws for the side peices, as shown before.(The sides are fitted snuggly for the PVC pipe you have for this project.)
PVC Pipe 2 —- 2 inch x 25 inch, to fit into the grove. The bottom PVC pipe can be smaller if that is what is available.
Look closely, and you will see a nail at the “side” towards the top. A hole has been drilled, so that the nail goes into the PVC pipe, and therefore the top roller can be used as a handle for easy carrying!!
This person says to keep a dryer sheet inside the top roller so you can rub the PVC pipe to keep stop the static and the rolling easy. For anyone with sensitivity to these scented sheets, perhaps a small set of cloth dryer sheets would work. It’s worth a try.
Another individual who makes the loom roller is Norman Yost. You can call [519 656-2485] or write to him [6115 Deborah Glaister Line, RR 2 Wellesley, Ontario N0B 2T0].
Current groups making mats:
At St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 9 Douro Street, Stratford, ON: meets every Monday 2-4 pm to work together. Contacts for this group are Jeanne and Ray Ford, 13 Battershall Court, Stratford (519 273-1464) and Donna Simpson, 169 Norman Street , Stratford (519 271-4859) [note corrections on time and address]
Collecting bags at school: Leanne Gabel at Mornington Public School 519-595-8995 Email:leangabe@fcamdsb.ca
Cassie Peters [cpeeters@catholic.org ] moved to Wingham and is in school there. Send an email to see how she’d doing.
The Woodlawn Group is still collecting, cutting and crocheting mats. Meets once monthly. Contact source: Violet & Christian Ropp chviropp@porchlight.ca (519) 595-4001
IFM says, “If any mats are coming to Tina’s organization, we need them before the end of January for the next load. They are very busy with cholera patients at this time.”
Thank you, Violet, for all of this information. I hope it’s helpful for people looking to start or continue projects.
Note: These mats are made from second-hand material and are not for sale at any price; they are intended only for poor and destitute people in Haiti.
Things I am thankful for
This year has been a blessing in many ways, with opportunity to travel and connect with good friends, spending time with family, reading good books, trying out new opportunities (like storytelling at the Ark this summer).
family
family together
beauty of nature (God’s creation)
early spring flowers at Edgewood
Cabot Trail, Cape Breton
friends ( a few of my many good friends): those near home and friends who live farther away
friends
friends in PEI
friend in NS
more East Coast friends
a few of my Ontario friends
good music and those who make it
a piano is good for making music
- St. Philip’s
Storytelling at The Ark, Bridgewater, NS
When my husband and I vacationed in Nova Scotia recently, we visited The Ark in Bridgewater, where I was guest storyteller. The Ark is a workshop for people with physical and intellectual handicaps, where volunteers from the community organization work with the clients.
The Ark in Bridgewater
Linda, one of the clients, introduces me to the audience.
Storytelling at The Ark: My stories for the day were two folk tales— from Peru and England— and a story I had written. The clients enjoy the stories.
Talking with Stephanie (middle) and Rosie (right) about writing and storytelling
David recanes a chair.
Roy (left front) poses for the picture with the birdhouse he made. Maryann at right.
My friend, Maryann, a volunteer at The Ark, gave us a tour of the building. She and her husband John are coaches for the Special Olympics, in which their daughter Jenn has been involved.
The Ark has a cooking program too. Here’s Jenn preparing food. Photo courtesy of Tim Frauzel at The Ark.
Kenny wears protective gear as he shaves stakes in a special cutter. The stakes will be used as highway markers for work crews. The cutter looks like a big pencil sharpener.
Sales area displaying goods produced by clients include paintings, stamped canvas shopping bags, hooked rugs, and small cabinets and boxes made from wood. Clients are also hired or volunteer to help with tasks for other community agencies and businesses.
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