Canada Comforts Society - February 2025 Newsletter
I trust you all had a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season. It’s that time of year again when we reflect on all that has been accomplished this past year.
We’ve had a very busy summer and fall with containers going out on a regular basis; to Ghana and Ethiopia in June, a second load to Ghana in July, one to Zimbabwe in August and one to Burundi in October. The container to Ghana in November went to two orphanages. In one orphanage, there had been a fire, so the children were in need of everything. In November, we were also busy making the requested items for a container to Ukraine, which went out in December to an orphanage for 250 children. We were asked to make extra-large cloth bags for each child to keep pajamas and personal belongings and for warm clothing such as toques, sweaters, slippers, blankets and washcloths. There was such a great response to the Ukraine appeal that a second container was filled, which will arrive in the spring!
In January, another container left for Sierra Leone, where it will be unloaded into a warehouse to supply several small remote villages with essentials, including many Canada Comforts items.
This January I was invited to hear Rick and Sheila Lamb from Alberta talk about their group Blessing the Children Canada in Ethiopia. They have a school of 2000 children from kindergarten to grade 12, who receive two meals a day at the school. Most of the children live on the street. Young adults that graduate from the school have gone on to train in numerous areas. One young chap is now doing their underground water supply, and a young lady is their technical support. In May, we will be assisting with a very large supply of articles going to this school. It’s always very heartwarming to help the children. Thank you to each and every one who contributed the wonderful articles to those less fortunate.
Blessings,
Roberta
A CONTAINER JOURNEY
There is a lot of work involved in getting a container full of donations to its destination.
A request to ship a container comes in from an organization, charitable group or mission who has a specific list of items needed. They are responsible for covering the cost of the container and shipping, often with the help of generous donors. The cost of shipping a container full of goods depends on many factors: the weight of goods, size of container, the distance travelled on land and sea, fuel surcharges, the season and any political instability in the area, but can range from $5000 to more than $15,000.
At the Compassionate Resource Warehouse, Dell Wergelund deals with all the permitting required; port fees, customs clearances etc., to get the container through to its destination. Often these permits take months to organize but sometimes there is very short notice for getting the container loaded and delivered to the port.
Dell sends requests for the items needed while the volunteers pull stored items from the warehouse. When the main contents for a container are packed into pallets ahead of time, it is easier to move them into the container in sections, though all the little gaps still need to be filled with efficient packing. Sometimes the contents are more awkward to pack, like wheelchairs, bicycles and medical beds, though the volunteers at CRW do an amazing job.
The container is tracked throughout its journey, by sea and land. It is always a celebration when it finally arrives at its destination, several weeks to months later. The CRW has sent 584 containers to date and has not lost one! Even the container that was in the Beirut explosion was eventually unearthed intact and got to its destination.
2025 Containers from CRW
1. Kiev, Ukraine January
Hospital beds, medical supplies
2. Kudjib, Papua New Guinea March
Hospital beds, medical supplies
3. Manzini, Eswatini March
Educational supplies & equipment
4.Manzini, Eswatini April
Education & medical supplies, sewing machines
5.Banjul, The Gambia May
Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
6.Accra, Ghana June
Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
7.Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June
Gleaner’s food
8.Accra, Ghana July
Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
9. Harare, Zimbabwe August
Educational, medical & building supplies, bikes & tools
10.Bunjubura, Burundi October
Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
11. Accra, Ghana November
Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
Kiev, Ukraine December
12. Orphanage supplies
13. Gleaners food
14. Household & educational supplies, bikes & tools
Some recent Ghana photos to share with you, of children wearing Canada Comforts shorts and dresses. Look for the Canadian flags on the shorts!
HOUSEKEEPING
• The CRW no longer needs empty spools. Thank you for your tremendous response!
• Marlene is asking for dress sewers to help with meeting the requests for the next two containers going out to Kenya and Malawi. She especially needs sizes 4,6 and 8 dresses. You can contact her by email: mrohanley@shaw.ca
• The CRW recently sent a reminder that gently used clothing means clean and without stains. They have received some unacceptable items that require extra time to sort and dispose of.
• Your response to our toque appeal has been wonderful! We don’t have numbers yet, but will let you all know soon. Thank you and keep knitting!
SYLVIA’S PAGE
I was thinking back to one of the reports I received from Dr. Keith Martin.
A number of years back, Keith was the local MP who spent his yearly holiday time in the developing world doing medical volunteer work. On one of his trips armed with our shorts sweaters and bears, Keith went to Northern Uganda. One of his jobs was to check over the health of boys living in a safe home who had been rescued or escaped from being child soldiers.
I remember Keith saying that as he drove up to the building he saw the yard full of boys playing. By the short time it took him to get out of the car everything around him was completely empty. He just couldn’t believe how the yard could be vacated so quickly and so quietly. The traumatized boys were terrified that a stranger might be coming to take them back to being soldiers again.
Keith spent a number of days at the Safe Home building up trust before he started his medical work as a doctor.
We have had reports back from many rural settings that strangers are treated with caution, and anyone wearing camouflage absolutely terrorizes the children and adults too. Terrorists wear camouflage. We have been asked not to use any type of camouflage fabric when we are sewing for the children in the Developing World.
I would just like to send a memo out to our bag sewers. The bags are very important and are used for so many functions: bears, school books, school and craft supplies, hospital kits, menstrual and incontinent kits, and various other items packed by the warehouse volunteers.
We are receiving a number of bags that open far too much – remember with sewing side seams we only leave 4 inches from the top. Also many casings are too narrow. The ties need room to slide back and forth. So we need a 1½“casing. Now I know for some this seems “over the top” but please top stitch the casing-close to the fold. You would be surprised with all the pulling of the ties just how much longer the bag lasts with the casing top stitched. Since I am on quality control for the bags- I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!
Already this year has proven a challenge for us with a container a month planned for – Sierra Leone in January, Kenya in February, Malawi in March, and Ethiopia in April. When I am handling any item I wonder- in 3 to 5 months what country will be its final destination. I feel so honoured to be able to make a positive difference in this mixed up world of ours. I know so many of you feel the same way. Together we are making a wonderful change in many lives. All our drops fill the bucket to over flowing!!!
My Love and Sincere Thanks,
Sylvia Hatfield
(Founder of Canada Comforts Society)
We can walk far when we walk together…..African proverb
Canada Comforts Society is a registered Canadian charity run by volunteers.
Website: http://canadacomfortssociety.ca/
Roberta Graham, President 250 595 9902 canadacomfortssociety@shaw.ca
Sara Hatfield, Secretary/Treasurer 250 474 4614 cancoms@shaw.ca
Betty Guiney: Workshop Leader 250 478 3040 abguiney@yahoo.com
Sylvia Hatfield, Founder 250 474 4614 canadacomforts@shaw.ca