• Travel

    The Strength of Women in Morales Duque, Colombia #TMMWVC #worldvisiongifts

    October 6, 2014 - By 

    The women of Morales Duque, in the south of Colombia, have gathered us inside a community centre. I am here to listen to their stories, as a representative of World Vision Canada visiting this country of contrasts. They hand us treats, and a traditional Colombian corn drink and a certificate signed by each member, thanking World Vision Canada. I thought I knew what strong resourceful women looked like. I know a lot about strong women in the context of Canada and the United States. I have never had to look far for brilliant female role models. My Mother, my grandmother,…

  • Health - Travel

    Two Hands are Enough – My Experience Travelling with World Vision Canada

    September 30, 2014 - By 

     People told me I’d be changed after travelling with World Vision Canada. That’s fair, of course and true and yet also trite. Inadequate.  Changed Words sometimes are so thin, evasive and even limiting. Changed doesn’t begin to capture the depth or range of emotions that I felt when walking through Asimiflor, a brand new area development program in Bucaramanga, the saddest place I have ever seen children living. My week travelling with World Vision Canada was jam packed with big adventures and interviews and so many stories shared that I will be recounting them for a decade or more. Eye…

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    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

    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…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Five Quick Facts About Colombia #Travel

    September 14, 2014 - By 

    Courtesy of Shutterstock Five Facts about Colombia 1. The official name for this country at the top of South America is the Republic of Colombia. It comes from the last name of the explorer Christopher Columbus, who arrived in 1499. It was originally called New Granada and only took its modern name in 1861. 2. Colombia is the only country in South America which has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Carribean Sea. It also borders five countries: Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. 3. Colombia is known for its emeralds and coffee. 4. The official language is…

  • active family travel - family - Travel

    Parkbridge Resorts Lakes of Wasaga Stay

    September 2, 2014 - By 

    I am a cottage girl. I have been doing that from the time I was born actually. I don’t think we have ever missed a year. So, cottage season is a big deal here. We are renters. Every single year. We have talked, but never seriously, about buying a cottage. Buying a cottage costs a lot of money and really, how long would we use it? Would we do well with all that upkeep? Would we travel each weekend in the summer to the cottage 3-4 hours away just to cut the lawn? I am not convinced. We love travel…

  • active family travel - family

    The Beach #WordlessWednesday linky

    August 20, 2014 - By 

    Every summer we travel to the beach with kids. Most summer vacations mean that we all get together and meet up with cousins in Georgian Bay, Ontario’s cottage country. It’s not possible every single year but it is something we enjoy doing as often as we are able. The beach is a happy relaxed place where we can always connect with family and just chill. Last week we went to the beach with my bother-in-law and sister-in-law. The highlight of that type of break is always all about seeing the cousins play together. This year there was swimming, but as…

  • family - Health - parenting - Travel

    Cottage Road Trip Memories #travel

    August 11, 2014 - By 

    Cottage Road Trip From the time I was a baby I spent my summers at the cottage. I have seen the pictures of me sleeping in the portable crib, and I remember the many years we took this week for family time, indulging in the opportunity to grow together. The routine of road trip and cottage travel is well mapped on my memory, etched on my skin in every single freckle and carved deep in the veins that lead to my heart. A school teacher relishes summer like no other professional I have ever known. They seize it and wring…