Hope 2 Others {Canada}

Me to We Awards 2009

2009-04-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Matthew was nominated for the 2009 Me to We Awards in the Youth in Action (ages 13-17) category, and the winner is based on the amount of votes they get! Help us support Matthew here: http://www.metowe.com/awards/vote/

2009-04-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Adrapko Village

Bringing school supplies

A wise old elder

You put your left foot in.....

Michael and Levi gettin jiggy

Michael's African homie

The hand dug well at Adrapko

Workshops for writing Penpal letters

Student Leadership Program

Villagers laughing at our dance efforts

A cross between the hokey-pokey and the chicken dance

Learning the tribal dances

Kevin was invited to join in

Living the simple life

Babysitting

Adrakpo Village

2009-04-11T00:13:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh, clean water!

More classes at another school

A small boy and his canoe

This was a very poor village we visited where they walked 5 miles to collect (unclean) water.

Michael eating a cricket...crunchy....probably will not become an addictive taste.

A fishing village working together.

Delivering more supplies.

Another water filter.

Checking out a latrine we helped build

Teaching classes on writing penpal letters

Health and sanitation workshops

Health Science experiments

Dropping off supplies at a very poor school

Monkey business

Matthew reading to Linwood

Matthew tried to make friends with this croc...not wise...he may look like he's smiling, and next to the flowers, he seems almost lovely, but....

This was a very energetic and enthusiastic school..very friendly

Another African sunset

Sunset in Africa at our guesthouse in Accra

Delivering school supplies at a very poor school

We spent many hot hours with 12 of us crowded in this van

Hanging out with our driver Vasco

This family walked many miles to collect water from a dirty mudhole

2009-04-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Another water filter workshop

Just hanging out with some neighbours

We used plastic bugs and did skits to teach about unseen 'amoebas and bugs' in dirty water

Our family has made many new friends

One of dozens of checkpoints - "Show me your papers, please"

Delivering more school supplies

The making of a water filter

A six foot high ant hill

Custom-made coffins

Michael and company teaching health and sanitation classes

Matthew presenting a 'football' to the school

Matthew teaching a water filter workshop

Katie teaching a health and sanitation class

Matthew and Kara delivering school supplies

Villagers collecting unclean water from local water source

Kara and matthew teaching a class

Filtering the sand for the water filter

Sogakope, Ghana

2009-04-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

^A contaminated pond used for drinking water^

^The Warnocks and their new friends^

^Justice and Matthew^

^Matthew testing out one of the water filters^

^Kara testing out one of the water filters^

This week we have been busy educating students and parents about good sanitation, proper hygiene, and the importance of clean water. We've done some water filter workshops and construction. We've been to fourteen schools so far where we've done health classes, biosand filter workshops, and handed out school supplies & sports equipment. The people here are incredibly friendly, welcoming, and grateful for people like you who donated gifts for the people of Ghana. In addition, numerous classes in Canada have been set up as pen-pals with hundreds of students here in Ghana.

We've also had the chance to experience the beautiful culture and traditions of the Ghanaian people. On Tuesday night we went to Adrakpo (a.k.a. "the drumming village") where we got to do some drumming, dancing, and singing after our workshops there. The music was absolutely fantastic, and Michael made quite the impression with his groovy dance moves. Kara and Matt have been making lots of friends at our new found home, and Katie is enjoying the sunshine.

Tonight our new friends are hosting a big going away party for us before we leave this area. We'll get the chance to try some new foods, enjoy time with our new friends, and maybe learn some new dance moves too!

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We miss you all!

2009-03-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

Michael and Levi with a giant slingshot for special ceremony games

More pics

2009-03-27T01:18:00.001-07:00

On our way to the Volta river, it was a 12 hour bumpyvan ride, with a one hour stop at a cultural centre, where they saw artisans making their crafts. The boys especially enjoyed the drum-making and the huge slingshot made for a ceremony. There was a quadraplegic who painted beautiful pictures with his mouth. It was a nice break from our long, hot, dusty journey through the jungle and windy mountain roads (more like paths). We got lost several times as there are no direction signs and the villages we went through were not on our map. We just kept going east and hoping we'd hit the Volta river, and it's a miracle we found our destination.

We have been pulled over at many checkpoints by scary looking dudes with machine guns, but so far we have not had to pay any bribes or been threatened. Today we have another hot van ride to another village called Sogakope.

2009-03-27T01:12:00.002-07:00

Many lizards!

Delivering much needed school supplies and soccer balls!

Making new friends!

Cooling off in the river!

Fishing Boat

The king of the Nkoranza district heard we were in the area, and invited us to his palace. Apparently, he still remembers the funny little white boy Michael who made him laugh so much at his comedic routine almost 4 years ago.

Volta Region

2009-03-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

We have been staying beside the Volta river and were excited to hire a local guide to go on a jungle riverboat cruise (even better than the one in Disneyland - this one is authentic) to see the dam to Volta Lake (the largest man-made lake in the world) and to go to an island. We have seen monkeys and crocodiles and huge frogs in this area, and of course, hundreds of huge lizards. We have to constantly keep shaking the lizard poo out of our sheets. It was cool to see all of the fishing villages along the river.

Volta Region, Ghana

2009-03-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

^Kara & Mary^

^Grocery shopping^

^Kara with the school children in Grumakrom^

^Melissa, Kara, Katie, Levi, and Michael enjoying the rain in Nkoranza^

^Mary, Kara, Melissa, and Ray cooking dinner^

^the Warnock family in Grumakrom^

Today we are in a small village close to Akosombo in the Volta Region. We are staying in a place along side the Volta River. There are lizards, frogs, and bugs everywhere! The river here is much like our Fraser River, only wider and with a slower current. We have a brief stop here to see the worlds largest man made lake and the Volta Dam. It is very hot here - 35celsius, and very humid.

This morning we visited a junior high school and a primary school just up the road from where we are staying. We introduced ourselves as well as told them a bit about Canada, what we are doing here in Ghana, and gave the teachers books and a soccer ball for the students. Thank you to everyone who donated supplies for these children. They are so grateful!

Nkoranza, Ghana

2009-03-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

After three and a half years away, we are finally back in Nkoranza, Ghana, where we stayed on our very first trip to Ghana. It is very hot, but we are entering the rainy season and had our first storm today. It felt like home for about 15 minutes, and then the rain stopped and was boiling hot again. We will be visiting schools tomorrow and passing out letters and school supplies from children in Canada, as well as teaching the importance of clean water and hygiene. The Ghanaian people are very appreciative, and are thankful that people in Canada care about them.

A little boy named Lynnwood, four years old, was very thankful to have Matthew sit down and read with him this morning. The girls have been teaching games to their friends in Nkoranza and we are all having a great time getting acquainted with the town.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We miss everyone like crazy!

We've Arrived!

2009-03-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

After four planes, several taxi's, and a lot of walking through airports and train stations, we've FINALLY arrived in Ghana! It's very hot and humid here, but the people are very friendly and we love it. We're in the capital city (Accra) so we still have access to a bathroom and internet (woot woot). We met up with the Wiebe family last night and we are all are leaving for Anamabo this morning. Even though it is super duper hot, we are wearing long pants and long skirts to respect the local culture and customs. The food is a little different, but tasty nonetheless.

More updates coming soon!

We're on our way!

2009-03-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

After a few days of traveling, in about a dozen hours we'll be on our way to Ghana!

Thanks to everyone who helped out in Matt & Michael's final fundraiser where they shaved their heads. They raised hundreds more than their goal, so thank you! You guys are awesome.

Update: Become A Member!

2009-02-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

This week we have been busy with meetings, presentations, and events, but we are so excited to share it with you!

You can become an official member of Hope 2 Others by going on to our website and clicking "Join Now". By doing this, you will be updated with all of our events, meetings, and presentations so that you can join us whenever you'd like. We are looking for volunteers to help us with public speaking, writing, website/blog, and much more! So please don't hesitate to send us an email with your name, school/age, and anything else you'd like us to know!

Last Thursday, Amy K. joined me at the Surrey school board meeting where I had the opportunity to show the board members and trustees what we have been doing through the Be the Change program in the last few months. I also invited them to support us with the Surrey Sustainable Schools Initiative, in which we hope to see our school district become a leader in sustainability throughout our province.

Last night we attended an iDEAS 36 meeting where student leaders from all over Surrey came together to share ideas and successes. Matthew and I did a presentation there as well, and we were amazed at the positive response! Thanks to everyone who attended. YOU are making a difference in our schools!

Finally, this morning we were invited to present our project at the Langley Rotary club. They were very encouraging and we are hoping they will work with us to help fulfill our goal of providing easy access to safe drinking water throughout Ghana.

One more exciting bit of information: we have booked our flights! Our family will be returning to Ghana in March and April to see all of our fund-raising efforts in action, and we will be helping build and install lots of water filters! You will be able to follow us on our adventures through videos, photos, and blog entries on our website!

Thank you for your ongoing support throughout our journey to bring hope to others through clean water! We couldn't have done any of this without your help!

Clear Water for Christmas campaign

2008-12-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the many people who have already responded to our Clear Water for Christmas campaign. However, we are still short of reaching our goal of giving 200 water filters to families in Ghana. YOU can HELP in 2 ways:

1) Donate a water filter on behalf of a loved one and receive a stainless steel water bottle and a Ghanaian thank-you card.

and/or

2) Pass on our website (http://www.h2o-canada.ca) to the people you know that may also want to participate. You can find an official information page about Clear Water for Christmas on our web page under "Gallery".

Thanks to Katie and Michael for stepping up this past weekend and braving the cold to sell cookies at the Walnut Grove Save-On-Foods. They raised over $130 on Saturday to help purchase several more water filters for families in Ghana. Way to go Katie and Michael!

FACTS.

2008-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

+ Every eight seconds, a child dies from a water-borne disease.

+ 6,000 children around the world die every day because of a lack of clean water.

+ 42,000 kids each week lose their lives due to a water related disease.

+ 75% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, and only .007% of it is available for human use.

+ A person can live weeks without food, but only days without water.

+ The average North American uses over 300 liters of water daily. The average African uses only 20 liters everyday.

+ Approximately one billion (1,000,000,000) people on Earth are without access to safe drinking water.

+ For children under the age of five, water related diseases are the leading cause of death.

+ Nearly two million (2,000,000) kids die every year from diarrhea, one of the most common diseases due to unclean water.

+ At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are inhabited by patients who are suffering from a water related disease.

+ Every US dollar in sanitation provides and economic return of eight US dollars.

YOU can help reduce these devastating numbers. A water filter only costs $40, and it can help save a small village.

A message from H2O {Canada}

Fraser Valley Bead Show

2008-10-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

On the weekend I was at the Fraser Valley Bead Show as a fundraiser for H2O. All of the beads were made by the Krobo tribe in Ghana, and each came with it's own story. Some were made from recycled glass, some were hand painted, some are made of brass, stone, and cow bone. You can buy them through Tribal Beads.

We had our first assembly for the Be the Change! program yesterday at Erma Stephenson. It went really well and I was happy to see positive reactions from the students.

Well, that's all for now. Back to school!

H2O on Facebook!

2008-10-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

Check out H2O {Canada}'s new Facebook page out here!

Will I Make A Difference?

2008-10-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Will I make a difference? Can one person really make a difference? The funny thing is, I used to think it wasn't possible.

I think as my passion grows towards doing my part in creating a sustainable Earth, other people seem to be getting the message. I'm not sure if I'm the one who is encouraging but I am definitely modeling a "go green" mentality. Just making a few changes in my own life has, in a small way, helped me to be the change I wish to see in the world. I'd like to encourage readers to do the same.

H2O-Canada supports 'Be the Change".