• Health

    When I Sponsor a Child With World Vision Canada Does My Money Really Go To Them? Child Poverty #TMMWVC

    September 26, 2014 - By 

    When I sponsor a child with World Vision Canada does my money really go to them? This is the number one question I am asked most in the days leading up to my trip to Colombia. I spent a week finding the answer to this question inside many impoverished Colombian cities where violence and drugs are a threat to childhood and family health. I witnessed extreme child poverty and the work World Vision is doing to try to help. I hope these posts help answer that question and many others too. Meet Miguel and Juan. I introduced you to them…

  • Giveaways

    Madame Picasso Paris 3 DVD Prize Pack Worth $75

    September 25, 2014 - By 

    (When this book arrived here late in August you can imagine the kid’s comments.) Madame Picasso is a pageturner and a well written tale that is thoroughly enjoyable. I haven’t had a lot of time lately to read or review books here. Time has been at a premium, but the moment I picked this one up and read the first line, well that was it. Anne Girard is a skillful storyteller and she weaves a truly captivating story here. It is rare that I am drawn in by a character instantly. Eva Gouel is memorable and charming and a character…

  • peace_keepers_1
    Travel

    How Soccer Balls Make an Impact in Taminango Colombia

    September 25, 2014 - By 

    I never thought a soccer ball in Taminango Colombia could make me cry. Let me explain… How Does the Gift of Sports Change Lives? This is what the gift of a soccer ball looks like in Colombia. A team in the middle of a dirt field practising every night. Two young men, sponsored as children, now coaches, committed and clear-headed. Mentors in every way. This is the living breathing outcome of presents from a World Vision gift catalogue. A vulnerable space made into a soccer field in a community where drugs, gangs and crime are extremely big threats to a…

  • Travel

    Peace Keepers – Youth in Colombia #TMMWVC

    September 24, 2014 - By 

      I travelled with World Vision Canada as a guest so I could tell these stories.   This week I am sharing my posts from my trip with World Vision Canada. These are two youths, Peace Keepers, we met in an area called Taminango, near Santander De Quilichao. They were incredibly inspiring. You can read about them tomorrow. You can read all of my stories if you follow my hashtag #TMMWVC or follow my blog and read about some of the incredible work being done in Colombia. Peace Keepers is a unique program here in Colombia that builds strong youth…

  • world vision canada child sponsorship
    Travel

    Hope Lives In a School Called Policarpa – Defeating Child Poverty Near Santander De Quilichao, Colombia

    September 23, 2014 - By 

    Hope is the thing you see in the faces of the students here. Inside a small school called Policarpa, in an area of Colombia called Santander De Quilichao, where domestic heroin use rages and gangs and guns are very real threats to children and entire families. But here, inside this school the children celebrate Amor Y Paz Month – Love and Peace Month. What Hope Looks Like Here Words hang in Spanish on the pillars in the school. Loosely translated they read: Tolerance, Love, Punctuality, Respect, Friendship. It is September and I have flown to South America with World Vision…

  • Travel

    The Colombia Briefing Trip

    September 22, 2014 - By 

    We’re discussing guns, heroin and child trafficking inside a World Vision Canada meeting room in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. This is my first security briefing ever. I have squeezed this Colombia Briefing Trip into a frantic first week back to school. My uniform for the week in Colombia Security Details These are the practical details that can help keep you safe in the field, which in this case is various vulnerable ADPs (area development programs) in the Colombian countryside. Soon I will take a Colombia field trip with World Vision Canada. Protect Your Documents and Money Get a money…

  • Food - Health

    Lifeway Kefir Low Fat Cultured Milk Smoothie Drink

    September 19, 2014 - By 

    So what exactly is Kefir? Kefir is a smooth version of drinkable yogurt packed with protein. It is essentially a cousin of yogurt with roots that go back to Europe over 2000 years ago. It is jam packed with probiotics which is why I wanted to try it. The taste is a bit tart, almost sour. It takes a bit of getting used to actually. My kids love drinkable yogurt and one of them found this strawberry flavoured cultured milk smoothie to be a bit sour. I have a sour streak, or should I say, a love of sour tasting…

  • Travel

    Bogota Airport Art #travel #WordlessWednesday

    September 17, 2014 - By 

    This is what greets you on entering the Bogota airport in Colombia. Part of the El Dorado Airport is under construction, but there are cheery artistic displays in many common areas. It was one of the brightest displays I have seen in an airport. I love that airports are getting so much savvier about their use of art in public spaces. This is some of the nicest and most colourful airport art I have ever seen. I recently traveled here with World Vision Canada to tell some stories about child sponsorship and the work being done in many areas of…

  • Back To School - family

    Braid Like a Boss with Goody Back to School Hair Accessories

    September 16, 2014 - By 

    This post is part of the YummyMummyClub.caand Goody #GoodyTips sponsored program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post about simple braids reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors. Back to school means racing out the door with lunches made and backpacks ready, and not a moment to spare. Some days, time is so tight that we scarcely have a moment to do the hair and teeth checks as we kiss them good bye and wish them a great day. Luckily though,as a Mom of girls, and a lifetime owner of long hair myself,…

  • family - Giveaways

    The World’s Gone Gummy with Gummy Drop App: Win an iPad

    September 14, 2014 - By 

    Gummy Drop is the latest release from Big Fish Games Imagine you are dropped right into Sydney, Australia to map out numerous Match-3 puzzles and earn the tools you need to put the world back together again. Gummy Drop App has a different feel than other Match-3 puzzle games. This one has a geographical flavour that is fun and, at times, also kind of feminine. I enjoyed the new angle on a favourite style of game. In fact Big Fish Games, maker of Gummy Drop App, released just this week, has a slogan that indicates they have a game for everyone. With…