Schools for Isolated Villages Campaign

"Our sponsoring experiences taught us that everything we do is returned tenfold. Glen and I are blessed with beautiful grandchildren who have everything they could possibly need. The photos Tony and Danielle brought back from Guatemala last spring really hit a raw nerve with me. One photo in particular, of a young boy carrying a toddler on his back offering a handful of knitted dolls for sale, really broke my heart. There was such haunting sadness in his eyes; I kept thinking that this child should be running around laughing and playing with his friends after classes...that this was much too much responsibility for such a young boy.

"I cannot stand the thought that children are going to bed hungry at night, that children are going to work instead of going to school. In Canada we have food banks, shelters, and breakfast programs for the destitute. In Guatemala many of these children have nothing. As far as Glen and I are concerned, there's always enough money to sponsor a child, but this time we wanted to do something different. The need is so great there that we want to help many children and so I asked Tony and Danielle to bring the children of Guatemala something from us. The rest, as the popular saying goes, is history. Within days we had four more sponsors and I just learned today that Danielle is matching our pledge. I couldn't be happier! I really, really hope that we will reach 100 matched pledges by the end of the year. The Métis people are among the most generous people I know and I know that we can reach that goal.

"Canada is a land of riches and privileges, but we are nothing as a people if we don't share our knowledge and good fortune with those who need us the most. The Indigenous people we are trying to help are in the same situation our own ancestors were centuries ago. The lessons we've learned while fighting for our rights mustn’t go to waste. We must bring our knowledge and support to other Indigenous people to help them reach an acceptable quality of life. In our eyes, it's the very least we can do."

Karole

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