Local Projects

Submitted by Strini Reddy, (on behalf of the HIP Committee)

 

 

The past 3 months have been extremely busy. Our HIP Committee co-chaired by Ingrid Dowan and Peter Imhof held a meeting on Wednesday, January 8th.

 

The past 3 months have been extremely busy with ongoing communication with our partner communities and a variety of initiatives in support of their efforts to ensure the well-being of children and youth.

 

 

           

 

As always, we also collected gently used skates and hockey equipment. There were a number of boxes of equipment and 8 large bags full of skates. The equipment went to Garden Hill and the skates to Split Lake.

 

Thanks to Rotarian Larry Schmidt who introduced us to a company who had 40 robotics kits to donate, we were able to arrange for a teacher from Winnipeg School Division to travel to Oxford House to conduct 3 days of exciting workshops with the teachers and children. The kits were left in the community. We are continuing with our efforts to find more such opportunities for our partner communities

 

Three years ago, we worked in partnership with an organization called Soaring Circle who provided one of our partner communities, Shamattawa, with 8 beautiful Janome sewing machines along with a large quantity of materials such as leather, fleece, etc. At the time we had a similar request from our friends in St Theresa Point. We continued to stay in touch with our friends from Soaring Circle and, last month, we were able to fly in a gift of 10 Janome sewing machines along with several boxes of sewing materials.

 

We received requests for Christmas toys from two of our partner communities, St Theresa Point and Bloodvein. Community members travelled to Winnipeg where we accompanied them on a shopping spree. In St Theresa Point, Santa rode his skidoo from house to house delivering the presents to wideeyed children.

 

 

Following the spate of youth suicides in Split Lake four years ago, we have been working with a couple of community leaders to support their efforts to get the young people engaged in land-based activities. This winter, they wanted to take the youth out on the land for a few days to cut wood for the elders in the community. They requested and we supplied 2 tents along with stoves.

 

We have been working with an organization called Start2Finish to establish a culturally relevant afterschool Running and Reading Program in one of our partner communities. As part of the program we requested and will be receiving a Book Vending machine which supplies the most diligent participants with gifts of books as an incentive to participate regularly.

 

We are supporting the efforts of a number of our partner communities to engage the students in a variety of after-school activities. Students in one of the communities indicated an interest in playing the guitar. We have provided 10 guitars which will be delivered to the community in early February. We are also working with an organization called Music Matters to provide virtual instruction to get the students started.

 

At the time of writing Rotarian Peter Imhof and recently-inducted member Ankita Soni are getting ready to ship several boxes of hygiene supplies to our partner community of Pauingassi. Many thanks to both of them as well as to all members who donated product or money towards this worthy venture.

 

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it.  And it isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work at it.”  And much ongoing work is required.  Today, 10’s of millions of people are displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations.

 

Each year, our club seeks to inspire, promote and facilitate grassroots understanding, goodwill, peace and compassionate actions through our Peace Days festival.  Peace Days is a space that’s been created to educate and  inspire people who want to build a culture of peace through conversations, relationships and actions that help promote positive peace.

 

This year was no exception.  The 2024 Peace Days festival kicked off with the Charter for Compassion event, held on September 11^th and 12th, where Marilyn Turkovitch, the Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion, provided an inspiring talk on the ongoing work of the Charter for Compassion, and Winnipeggers discussed the potential for Winnipeg to become a chartered member.  An enthusiastic group of over 50 people attended on the 11^th and about 60 people attended the discussion on the 12^th.  The event received coverage in the Winnipeg Free Press, CJOB and CBC on the Morning Show, and interest in moving Winnipeg forward to becoming a Charter for Compassion City was strengthened as a result of the event.

 

This was followed by the 11^th annual Elementary School Peace Walk at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on September 13^th, attended by hundreds of students and teachers. The theme of this year’s Peace Walk was ‘What About Us” and featured a musical performance of the theme song by Compass from Collège Miles MacDonell Collegiate, and a captivating Indigenous dance performance by Buffy Handel and her dance ensemble.  And as in previous years, it is always inspiring to see the students carrying their signs, shaking their noise makers, shouting out Peace slogans while joyfully holding hands as they march around the museum.

 

A video from the event can be found here:

Another notable event was Women’s Unity For Peace hosted by Manitoba Women for Women of South Sudan on September 28, 2024.  This event brought together members of Winnipeg’s Sudanese community, Rotarians, and others to learn about the great work done  to help refugees and returnees affected by the conflicts in Sudan using funds from last year’s fundraiser, in which our club was a partner.  This gathering also focused on sharing ideas about building a more peaceful future. Exciting news was also shared: Manitoba Women For Women has officially received charitable status from the CRA

   

And the 2024 Peace Days festival concluded with the 7th annual Peace and Harmony Networking Event organized by Winnipeg Peace Builders Toastmasters and held on November 10.  This annual gathering provides an enriching opportunity for immigrants and refugees to network, socialize, and celebrate the Peace Days 365 festival of 2024. The event featured cultural dance, music, and other entertainment, fostering connections among professionals, immigrants, and refugees while offering delicious ethnic snacks. Approximately 50 attendees joined in the celebrations

 

Greetings were shared by President Frank and Maysoun Darweesh, Program Director for IRCOM, delivered a powerful keynote speech.  Musical performances were provided by One Voice One Team. Three cultural dance groups performed, adding vibrant energy to the event, and a group discussion on a peace-related topic encouraged participation and reflection. Additionally, a yoga demonstration offered a moment of mindfulness for all in attendance.

Submitted By Rotarian Brent Jorowski

Community Services Director

 

Once again, we provided a variety of sports equipment, board games, craft supplies, etc to assist our partner communities in keeping the children and youth happily engaged over the summer months. In addition, we continued our partnership with the national literacy organization, United for Literacy, to offer early literacy activities in 5 of the communities. This involved the hiring of 2 staff in each community as well as providing a wide selection of books and materials which were left for the families at the end of the program.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
We continued working in partnership with our friends True North Aid who supplied 5 of our partner communities with backpacks filled with quality school supplies at the beginning of the school year. Throughout the year we work with this excellent organization to assist communities with other supplies like bedding and hygiene products.

WINTER CLOTHING
Our annual drive for collecting winter clothing and hockey equipment grows bigger each as the demand continues to increase. We are grateful to our schools who encourage the students to donate generously to this cause. Last fall we shipped over 100 boxes of apparel to 5 different communities. Another community was the recipient of 21 bags of hockey equipment. We also purchased a skate sharpener for the community. A wonderful group of volunteers called “Threads of Hope” have become strong partners in this venture. They make beautiful hats, mitts and scarves to include in the shipment. In addition, one the communities requested warm socks for the children which we purchased and sent.

LITERACY
Part of our literacy initiatives consisted of shipping large quantities of books to 2 more communities for distribution to the students and their families. This was done with the invaluable assistance of Chris Melnick and Share the Magic. We will now begin to focus on assisting our partner communities in their efforts to equip their libraries with up to date indigenous related materials. A Winnipeg teacher wrote a children’s book on mindfulness called “It Starts with a Breath”. The book was also translated into Anishinaabe and Cree. We purchased and sent multiple copies of the books to the appropriate communities.

ENRICHMENT EXPERIENCES
Once again, we sponsored an indigenous high school student to attend the wonderful Rotary Adventure in Citizenship program in Ottawa. As has become our practice, we collaborated with RC Transcona to send a second student to the program.
We also sponsored 2 indigenous students to attend the annual Rotary Adventure in Human Rights.
In addition, we supported HIP national’s youth initiative which brought together indigenous and non-indigenous youth for a week-long learning and sharing experience.

 

 

Many of our partner communities are actively engaged in land based activities and we have tried to support these efforts as best we can.  We were able to provide a large quantity of fishing equipment to one of the communities who wanted to teach as many of the students as possible to fish both to learn the skills as well as to provide food for their families.

 

Through offering his services as a volunteer our President Frank Cosway discovered an amazing organization called “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” which builds beds for children in Winnipeg who do not have beds.  Beds and bedding have been one of the greatest needs in our partner communities so we approached the organization to see if they would be interested in helping us build beds for children in remote northern communities.  They readily agreed.  With financial support from our friends at True North Aid and volunteer assistance from our members as well as Jim Thiessen and the wonderful folks at SLIHP we had 50 beds built and shipped to our friends in Split Lake.  We are planning a second build in October and then we are going to work on finding ways to make this great opportunity available to our friends in the fly-in communities.

 

During the year we became aware of a young indigenous woman from Keeseekoowenin FN who was one of the two MB students who won the 2023-24 annual prestigious Loran scholarship worth $100,000 for 4 years of university education.  She was chosen not only because of her academic prowess but also because of her work in support of children and youth in her community.  We connected with her to ask if we could support her efforts in the community which she enthusiastically accepted.  We had a wonderful summer of working together to provide summer basketball and baseball camps in her community.  We will continue to work together in the future in support of her efforts to promote the well being of the children and youth. 

 

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg has developed a partnership with 10 isolated northern indigenous communities in Manitoba.  In the fall of 2023 we shipped over 200 boxes of warm winter clothing, jackets,  boots, mitts, hats by air and winter Road.  We also sent 35 hockey bags of  skates, helmets and other hockey equipment to one community.  Rather than sharpening the skates we purchased and shipped a skate sharpening machine to them to enable them to create a small business.  Estimated total of clothing, skates etc is  $15,000

 

We continue to ship books to northern indigenous communities for their libraries and for distribution to the children.  In total we shipped 36,000 books

 

We sponsored 3 youth to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA in 2023), hosted a Rotary Exchange Student, sponsored 5 students to attend the Rotary Adventures in Human Rights , including two indigenous youth.  We sponsored two indigenous youth to attend the Y2Y event in British Columbia and donated $2,600.  Also sponsored students from several schools to attend the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA). We sponsored two students to attend the Adventures in Citizenship in Ottawa.  Our youth budget is  $15,000.

 

A team of 12 Rotarians and Rotaractors participated in a Habitat for Humanity Build in August amounting to 100 volunteer hours and donated $3,000.

 

We continue to support and mentor the Rotaract Club at the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba.  We are having discussions to begin a French Rotaract Club at the Université de Saint Boniface. Two of our Rotarians are French speaking.

 

Our satellite club raised $3,600 for Oak table to purchase much needed supplies for individuals with severe financial needs

 

Locally we donated $5,000 to the newly formed Pitikwe Skate Park in downtown Winnipeg for Ramps and audio equipment. 

 

Collected hygiene and infant items for Willow Place, a woman’s shelter ($1,000)

 

Our International commitment includes projects in South Africa, (sustainable agriculture and water facilities) Bangladesh ( education for female Rohingya refugees) and Democratic Republic of Congo (Education and economic empowerment of women). Totalling over $50,000.

 

  

My name is Madyn and I was fortunate enough to get to participate in RYLA junior week this past summer. RYLA is one of the best things to happen to me. The whole experience was phenomenal from start to finish and I loved every single second of it. I'm so excited to tell you all about it.

 

To start off I want to tell you all how I discovered and applied for RYLA. Since I was a kid I’ve always been interested in ways that I could make a difference. Whether it was participating in our environment club at school so that I could protest for change or starting a GSA to create a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone. It wasn’t until I had a conversation about Rotary Exchanges with my auntie Heather that I discovered a place where I could truly make a bigger difference. After that conversation I did some research and came into contact with Nancy who has been such an amazing help throughout the whole process of getting into RYLA. Nancy told me about this 6 day camp during the summer that I instantly had my hopes set on. Once registration opened I worked with my mom and dad to summit an application that I was truly proud of. When I found out that I had been accepted I was beyond excited. The whole concept of RYLA seemed amazing. I was looking for people who were like me. They wanted to be leaders and were excited to learn about all the things I was wanting to learn about. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have not only attended the best camp ever but to also get to share my favorite parts with all of you.​

 

During RYLA I truly felt my happiest and the most comfortable about who I am as a person. It felt as though the whole outside world just floated away and all that was important was having fun with the people around me. On the first day we were all strangers but by the end of it all I made some truly amazing connections with so many different people. RYLA was my first sleep away camp and I was definitely a bit nervous to go because I was worried about being crazy home sick. I now am homesick of RYLA because of how truly incredible everything and everyone was.​

 

Some of my favorite RYLA memories are :​

-All of the team activities but especially the midnight challenge (when they woke us up at 2 in the morning and we had to solve a series of riddles as well as a logic puzzle to help save Adam and/or Steve -the two stuffed whales- who had been tied up in the bathroom) as well as the Amazing Race. For those of you who don’t know the Amazing Race is the final team event on Friday night. It is a big race that challenges you mentally and physically but also challenges you as team. You needed to untie a sponge that you ended up taking turns using to fill a bucket up with water. Your team had to portage a canoe that two of your teammates had already canoed in. You climbed up a large wall and my favorite part when you created a human ladder where one of your teammates walked across sticks that where suspended between two other peoples hips. I loved all of the team activities because they taught me how to work well as a team with people I had only met a couple of days ago. It also taught me how to play to not my but also other peoples strengths. As a team we were able to realize that if we worked together and combine our strengths we could be more successful. Doing so was definitely helpful in winning second place for the amazing race. ​

 

-I loved all the campfires and the stories that got told around them. The evening we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in between games of volleyball. And lastly, the final campfire where we went around and thanked everyone who had made camp extra special before throwing a handful of flour into the fire. When you would throw the flour into the fire it would instantly spark up and grow bigger.​ Alway earning a round of oohh's and ahh’s from everybody.

 

-Our pictures on the walls of the rec hall that people would hang up notes or compliments that had written. Those Shineys as we called them where one of my favorite part of camp. Each time I got a new one I would feel so happy and like I was loved by somebody I just met. I still will take out all my Shineys and read them because it always makes me feel happy and will instantly bring up my mood.​

 

-I loved making the music video because it was something that brought me out of my comfort zone. It made me act and dance in a way that I’d never done before and probably never would have. My dad works for CBC so I will often get to see the editing part of making a video, but I’d never seen the shooting part of the process and doing so definitely peaked my interest. I would say that creating a music video encouraged me to sign up for the Radio and Media class that my school offers and I wouldn't have normally decided to do that. In my music video we also were very silly and I loved getting to let loose and just have fun.​

-RYLA offered smudgings every single morning just before breakfast and I loved the sense of peace and tranquility I would always get afterward. It felt like a nice way to connect to a tradition that isn’t my own and to show resect for the land and the bodies we were lucky enough to have.​

-At RYLA we also did a thing called sharing circle. We were given a topic that we were encouraged to share about. Some of the topics we had were, who are or is you comfort person or people and what was an obstacle you have overcome and how did you overcome it. I loved doing these sharing circles because they made me feel vulnerable. I was sharing stuff I don’t share with just everybody to people I had just met a couple days before. It was something that we were all able to truly connect over because it was us in all our glory.​

 

-I loved all the different ways that they made supper fun and interesting. Tuesday they connected our arms together with rubber bands and when we went to get seconds they would flip over our table and benches. What I’m sure the councilors didn’t expect was that once they did it one time we all came together and would sit on other peoples benches so that they didn’t get turned over. I loved that in a situation that normally would be everybody for themselves we all banded together and chose teamwork. Thursday was RYlike you night where you were partnered up with somebody and by the end of the night you were friends. I loved how it forced me out of my comfort zone to connect with somebody I probably wouldn’t have before. Through that night I made a friend that I’ve been lucky enough to stay in touch with. Friday we had spaghetti and pudding with no utensils. I loved watching everybody’s different strategies and how some people simply used their hands.

 

-I loved learning about all sorts of different Rotary programs that I can participate in. As well as learning about the shelter box program and how we can help to fundraise for that. I am really excited to stay involved within the rotary community and loved getting to learn about things I can do now as well as things I can do in the future.​

 

-I loved the talent show because it was another thing that forced me outside of my comfort zone. I always struggle with performing and presenting because I worry it won’t be good enough. Playing the guitar for the talent show had always been my plan but I loved that I was able to do a duet. It was calming to have somebody else by my side and to know that if I made a mistake not all of the attention would be on me. The talent show was really nice because I now feel more confident playing in front of other people.​

 

-The dance was so much fun because it was a chance to truly let loose and have fun. We spent at least a full hour just dancing and singing-along to so many different songs. It was so much fun and I will never be nervous or shy to dance ever again.​

 

-I loved that we had plenty of free time. It let us be social and it made me feel like we were treated as equals and not as little kids. I often spent my free time swimming in the gorgeous lake, playing rounds of volleyball, and hanging out with so many different groups of people.​

 

-Because the theme for rotary this year is to create hope in the world, at RYLA we made hope projects. A hope project is how we can create hope in our school, community, town, province, country and even globally. I loved doing these hope projects because I learnt so many new ways to be a leader and I’m very excited to start implementing what I learned.​

 

-I loved watching the sunrise on the very last day. It felt so special to have watched such a beautiful sight with such a beautiful group of people.​

 

-I loved that we all got a shirt that everybody signed and a bracelet that I only ever take off to sleep. Having both of these reminds me off such an amazing place and every time I look  down at my wrist I always smile. These things give me hope and inspire me to continue to give hope to others.​

 

Post RYLA I am so excited to implement some of the Hope projects we created at camp into my school and my community. The project that I’m the most excited to implement at my school through our GSA is something we called the kindness campaign. As I said before, writing and receiving shineys was one of my favorite parts of camp because the feeling of joy I got from reading them was one that I will never forget. I want to share that feeling with all of my peers and teachers. I also want to implement a unique type of fundraiser called the Wheel of fortune community fundraiser. Each student would choose a charity they would want to fundraise for. Once you have all the charity’s you put them into a big wheel and once a month you would hold a big event to spin the wheel to determine where all the money you’ve fundraised is going to end up. If a school had 350 students and staff and everybody donated just one dollar a month you would already have 350$ for each charity you ended up donating to. I love this idea because the charity that I pick will be special to me and the charity that my teacher picks will be special to her. Through this fundraiser I’ll get to learn all about these different charities and how they are special and important to whoever chose them. Besides implementing those hope projects into my school I plan on continuing to participate in as many after school extra curriculers as possible and find ways to get involved within my community, city, and province.

 

RYLA is such a unique camp because it focuses on not only making you a better person but also making you feel like you are the best you possible. I had so much fun learning not only more about being a leader but also more about myself. Thank you so much for making it possible for me even to attend such an amazing camp. I loved every single second of it and hope I can go back again next year. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you ever need a volunteer or any help what so ever. Thank you.

 

Hello my name is Jarius. Hello my name is Alaura. We are part of Teen Stop Rotary Club.

 

Both of us live in the Marlene Development in St. Vital and go to Lavallee School.

 

Jarius – I started to come to Teen Stop 3 years ago. I joined the Rotary Leadership Circle this year because I wanted a way to spend my summer and not be stuck at home.

 

Alaura – I joined Teen start in 2021.

 

Before Rotary started we helped out a lot around the Centre with cleaning, washing dishes, sorting food, taking out the recycling and cooking.

 

This year Rotary has been a fun way to get out of our Drop in Centre and into the community.

 

At Manitoba Harvest we scratched Bar Codes off of baby food and packaged them up again. After we played a game where we had to stack miniature chairs and ladders to see which team had the tallest structure. Alaura’s team won. Seeing all of the positions at Harvest got me(Alaura) thinking about how I could use my experience for future employment.

 

We did a Fundraiser selling Tacos in a bag and lemonade. Jarius handled the money, cook, took orders and made signs to post around the neighbourhood. Being responsible for so many jobs was a great way for me to be a leader.

 

Through YAA we got to participate in Computers for Schools Manitoba. We each got to build our own computers and will get to take them home with us later this summer. This was the first time we really got to interact with youth from around the city. It gave me pride in our community seeing that so many other youth are participating in the same experience as I am.

 

We are grateful to be in Rotary because it is like having a job – we have to be here on time and clock in.

 

Rotary has taught me accountability. The opportunity to earn money has helped to motivate us on harder days. This has also given us the chance to learn about some money management skills.

 

Rotary teaches us that hard work pays off.