Super Grandmothers!

Posted on December 9, 2013 by admin

Grandmothers are very special. Whether it’s their capacity to laugh, support grandchildren, or see them a little more objectively than their parents, grandmas are essentially our students’ very own personal fan clubs. I have seen that special look of joy and pride in grandma’s eyes, at school science fairs, plays, the athletic sidelines and closing ceremonies. Grandma’s presence and her smile can make all the difference for a student.

Why the focus on grandmothers? It turns out that after more than 30 years of fighting the global HIV–AIDS pandemic, grandmothers have become some of the real heroes.

For a quarter century the international community’s attention has been focused each December 1st on World AIDS Day. We commemorate the millions of lives affected by the international AIDS pandemic. More than 25 million lives have been lost, most of them in Africa. Today the vast majority of the 34 million people living with AIDS are also in sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite this reality, there has been some notable progress in fighting the pandemic. In the past decade there has been a near 30% reduction in new HIV infections, and during the same period, global AIDS deaths have also fallen by 30%. At less than $1/day, anti-retroviral medications are now affordable and effective.

But some alarming trends persist. The only age group with a rise in AIDS infections is the youth cohort, the same age as our LCC students: 10-19 years old. Since 2005 there has actually been a 50% rise in youth AIDS-related deaths, usually due to ignorance, denial or cultural stigma. Sixty-three (63%) of the infections are young women who know little or nothing about preventing the disease or its treatment.

For years LCC students have financially supported the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which has done so much to raise awareness, raise funds, and help turn the tide on AIDS, especially in Africa.

In his years of work to stem the tide of AIDS, Lewis has visited many African communities profoundly affected by the disease. In most cases, he noted that the pieces were being picked up by grandmothers; old women who continue today to care for their orphaned grandchildren. Lewis sees African grandmothers as the key agents of change on the frontlines of HIV in Africa. A recent special report calls these old women the “guardians of sub-Saharan Africa.”

So earlier this fall, the Stephen Lewis Foundation brought six African grandmothers to Canada to tour several communities and explain the reality of their lives and the impact of AIDS on orphaned children.

The grandmothers need more support. Specifically, they require better housing, access to health care, food security and access to education in their local communities.

In Canada, 240 grandmother groups have been very busy helping out. Through a host of innovative activities they have raised $17 million for African grandmas. Along with the Stephen Lewis Foundation, they are sounding a clarion call-to-action to the world. They are telling us it is time to break the silence regarding neglect and negligence of grandmas. We should all recognize that these selfless women have been the key to survival of whole communities.

If there is a grandma in your family, ask what she thinks. It should be a unique conversation. —Christopher Shannon, Headmaster

Community Service: An Incredible Opportunity

Posted on December 5, 2013 by admin

Lower Canada College offers incredible opportunities and experiences. Seven other students and I were very lucky to participate in an LCC community service outing at Camp Massawippi. We shared this experience with seven amazing kids who came from the Mackay Center, a school for children with disabilities, located on Decarie Boulevard. We spent three days at the camp on Lake Massawippi, which is in the Eastern Townships.

This was one of the most interesting experiences that I have participated in up until now. When I signed up for this opportunity I sort of new what I was in for, as I have worked with children in similar cases before. Just to get acquainted with the children and what they liked, we visited them twice at the Mackay Center before the trip.

The first day at Camp Massawippi was a time when one quickly forgot about one’s comfort zone with the children and figured out a way to deal with the situations. One learned very quickly how funny and easy going the children were. They did not need our constant surveillance but they did need our affection and reassurance. Although we had to take care of some of their physical needs like feeding, much of our time was spent playing, laughing, watching movies and going on walks.

Although most of the students needed help completing every day tasks such as eating, they all had very strong personalities that were very different from one to the other. One girl in particular would get very excited over the small things she loves in life. From what I observed, all the children have a “joie de vivre.” – Klara Goettke ’15

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Student Exchange: Unforgettable Life Experience

Posted on December 3, 2013 by admin

On October 10, I flew out from the Sydney International Airport, excited for the journey to Montreal, Canada. After a 22 hour flight I arrived in a warmer climate than expected for Montreal, with temperatures around 20 celsius. I was given the rest of the afternoon to settle in and to adjust. The next day I was taken on a tour of the city, as well as meeting my host Charlie’s friends. On Saturday, I was taken to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I was given a tour of the city, where there were many amazing buildings, such as the parliament buildings. Sunday was Canadian Thanksgiving and we went to family friends for Thanksgiving dinner, where we had a roast turkey and pumpkin pie for dessert. It was a different experience, as I had never had pumpkin pie before but after trying it I could see why it was so popular!

Tuesday came quickly and it was finally my first day at Lower Canada College! I was excited but also nervous at the same time. Everyone was so welcoming and helped me settle into school. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to play with the school’s football team, training with them Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night before the final game of the regular season that Friday. I was not able to get placed on the field as the team battled hard to keep their chances of making the playoffs alive. In the end however, they went down by 21 points. This meant the team missed out on playing in the post-season. Although I did not play any game time, being given the opportunity to train with the boys and learn more about how to play the game was a great opportunity.

Three weeks into my exchange Halloween had arrived, with the school having various activities set up – the favourite being pumpkin smashing! The school was full of students wearing different costumes, some being more inventive than others.

That weekend Charlie and his family took me to Toronto. We arrived on the Friday night and I could tell it was a huge city, with many high-rise buildings everywhere. On Saturday we walked around the city, seeing the newly opened aquatic centre, however the line was way too long, so we did not actually visit. We also went shopping at the Eaton Centre, which is near Yonge and Dundas Square, the Time Square of Toronto on a smaller scale. On Sunday before leaving for home, Charlie and I went up the CN Tower, the world’s tallest free standing structure at 553m. The viewing deck is 350 meters above the ground and gives you a great view of the size of the city.

A week later and we were off again, this time to New York for the weekend. Saturday morning we went to Hoboken, New Jersey to Carlo’s Bakery, made famous by the show ‘Cake Boss’ as per my request. Little did I know that the line to get into the bakery would be two hours long! We then headed for New York City to visit the World Trade Centre Memorial. Before going to Time Square, we went to Battery Park and saw a magnificent view of the sun setting behind the Statue of Liberty. We then arrived at Time Square. Everything about it was intimidating. It felt as though you were boxed in by all the surrounding buildings and you couldn’t move because of the amount of people that were there.

The next place we went to was the Rockefeller Centre, where the Christmas tree was in the process of being set up. We also went to the Apple store on Fifth Avenue which is just a glass cube with stairs leading down to the store. The next day we went to the Bronx Zoo where I enjoyed seeing all the different animals although many were not out as it was too cold.

The highlight of my exchange was going to watch an NHL ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Charlie’s dad taught me all the different rules of the game. The Montreal Canadiens won the game 6-2 against the Minnesota Wild. The atmosphere at the game was electric with employees dancing in the aisles to entertain the crowd as the music blasted around the arena.

My exchange was quickly coming to an end as I said goodbye to all my Canadian friends before flying home on November 29. I soon touched back down in Adelaide after an amazing life experience that I will never forget.

I believe if anyone is lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in an exchange they shouldn’t think twice about accepting because you will not regret it! – Brandon Blacksell, Grade 11 Exchange Student – Adelaide, Australia

Honoured & Proud To Have Been An LCC Exchange Student

Posted on December 2, 2013 by admin

I landed in Montreal 54 days, 10 hours and … minutes from today. I climbed off my air Canada flight not exactly sure what to expect besides seeing pictures of gigantic moose and cars buried in 50 feet deep snow. But other then that, I expected a city filled with people with saying “eh.” What greeted me was a beautiful city with a vibrant atmosphere that I still can’t explain, filled with some amazing people. 54 days…it is incredible to think how many laughs have been shared, smiles exchanged and unforgettable memories have been made in such a short time.

When Canadians think of South Africa they think of mud huts and starving children, but it’s very far from that! We have huge cities and cars – that’s probably why my first encounters with LCC students went something like this:

“Oh you’re from Africa – then why are you white?”
“Is South Africa even a country? Like where is that”…amazes me since its all in the name!
“What’s your accent British, Australian?”…try South African accent…“Oh yeah, but is that British or Australian”

During my time at LCC, I’ve been given numerous opportunities. The first opportunity I was given was to experience freezing weather on Duke of Ed silver trip. After going on the Duke of Ed trip, I can safely say that I will never complain about being cold back home in South Africa ever again. This was my first experience of camping in the snow…. I don’t think my toes will ever recover. To all those who conquered it with me we are true survivors.

I was given the opportunity to go with the LCC debating team to a tournament at Carlton University. This is where my South African accent proved to be quite a commodity. At Carlton, I believe we spent more time debating about how the actual debate (who won extra) than actually debating. I want to thank Mr. George and the LCC debaters who suited up with such swag for a great weekend.

LCC it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. I’ve built a robot that actually moves! Props to my robotics class for the best African jokes. I was able to learn a little French by the best and one and only M. Sigouin. I learned how to create skits using Tibetan throat singing in drama and witness Mr. Shefler blow up many things including Halloween pumpkins. LCC, thank you for making me excited for school every Monday morning. I don’t think I’m ever going to say that again.

I’ve been able to try out, play and watch sports that I would never be able to in South Africa. I tried playing on the Juvenile Basketball team – it is a miracle I didn’t start kicking the ball considering how little I actually knew about the game. I got to be the mascot for my amazing midget volleyball team. I also was able to watch some skilled players play football and ice hockey.

I’m going to miss the African jokes, your ridiculous attempts at imitating my accent but mostly, I’m going to miss your chocolate milk vending machines.

I’m honoured and proud to say that I was an exchange student at LCC. Besides LCC being older then my entire country, the staff and facilities are amazing. I don’t study under a tree on the ground in South Africa but my school certainly doesn’t have its very own rink.

I want to thank everyone who played a part in my exchange. Thank you to my host family, Mr. Shannon, Mr. Neal and Ms. Shadley for graciously welcoming me into your school and country. I could never imagine that I would feel so at home at school on the other side of the world. Its true that every good thing needs to come to an end but this isn’t a goodbye. I will be back.

Just like this LCC pin pinned to my blazer, all of you and our memories will always be a pinned to my heart. Goodbye and thank you LCC. – Carmen Debeer (exchange student from St. Stithians Girls College, South Africa)

Community Service: A Global Perspective

Posted on November 29, 2013 by admin

Throughout my high school experience, I had the opportunity to travel abroad multiple times. These travels included a student exchange to Australia, two Duke of Edinburgh Gold trips to Peru and an International Round Square Conference in South Africa. Each of my experiences gave me a new perspective in terms of community service, the diversity of people in the world and the challenges faced by those in developing countries. Not only have these experiences broadened my global awareness; they have also helped me grow and continue to grow into who I am.

When I arrived in Peru two years ago, it was my first exposure to a developing country. I thought I knew what to expect: barefoot hungry children, worn down houses and desperation. On my first day doing service at a shantytown called Las Palmas outside of the capital city, Lima, I found out my preconception was very wrong. The conditions were worse than I expected: stray dogs roamed all over, dust covered absolutely everything and a rotting stench filled the air. Fortunately, I was also wrong about the state of the people in the community. The children were happy and eager to play with us and each other, and the adults possessed a sense of pride in themselves and their community. The physical labour we performed was not enough. Upon our arrival home, a few friends and I decided we needed to do something more. We started fundraising in hopes of helping improve the community as much as we possibly could.

A few months later, along with other LCC representatives we set off to South Africa for an International Round Square conference. Besides partaking in the conference, we helped out at a daycare and school for kids who grew up in impoverished conditions. We only spent a few hours volunteering: taking care of the kids, painting a roof and playing soccer. I left the service days extremely upset. Between my experiences in Peru and South Africa, I noticed how happy the locals were in spite of their assumed “lack” of materials that we consider necessary for our happiness here in North America such as cell phones, cool shoes and ice cream desserts.

On the plane ride home I began to contemplate – why am I so lucky to have all that I do? What is the point of doing “service” for a few hours when at the end of the day these children’s lives are “unimproved”?

I returned home in a philosophical crisis. I wanted to help, Peru, South Africa, everywhere! I just didn’t know how to do it in a way that would actually help them, and improve their lives.

My friends and I who were already fundraising for the community in Peru decided we could start a micro-loan fund in the community, a lump sum of money that would go to starting businesses for women so they could be self-sufficient and help feed their families. After hours spent discussing how the fund would work with the mayor of Las Palmas, the town, and signing the necessary documents, we handed over the money to the mayor. While the money did end up in the community, we have yet to hear back on the happenings of the fund for the past eight months, so we do not know how it turned out. Unfortunately, all we can do is hope it ended up benefitting the community in some way. This is an example of why even though you may have good intentions, you have to be very careful when it comes to international service and make sure you trust the person dealing with your money.

Fortunately, we were more careful when we fundraised for the daycare we worked at in South Africa. The money was handed over to a woman who we had met and who worked to improve the day care, so she had already successfully dealt with donations like ours.

Ultimately, one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from these experiences is that it’s important to learn about the world, because exposure is the first step to help making it a better place. Although in my life I hope I discover the “best” way for me to do service, there is certainly no right answer. Once you are exposed to an issue, it is very difficult to simply forget about it. Whether it’s in the city of Montreal or some remote village in India, it is important to realize what matters locally and internationally, and to do your best to help. – Sarah Salzman (Pre-U ’14)