At age 92, my Dad announced that he would like to go to Africa. He had never been there but he had developed a connection, in part, through the work that I do with the CanAssist African Relief Trust. Over the past few years he donated support to two small schools in Kenya and was honoured that one of the communities named their school after him – The S.P. Geddes Early Childhood Development Centre. This proved to be a long title that was challenging to fit onto the school gate. Something like naming a Kingston street The Tragically Hip Way.

The logistics of taking a 92 year old on a 30 hour plane trip and then negotiating rough roads and drop toilets meant that Dad never made it to Africa. He passed away quietly this autumn almost 95 years old, having lived a satisfying long life but he never made it to Africa.

Sometimes people in North America feel helpless and frustrated by the stream of difficult news from Africa. Research has shown that we are negatively affected by discouraging stories of war and poverty and AIDS and Ebola. Although our inner selves would very much like to help in some way, we shy away from taking any action if the challenges seem to be too difficult. We are much more likely to help one child than a whole school.

Large international charities know this. They may imply that your donation is going straight to the child whose photo is on their website although the small print will tell you that this child will be one of many that are helped by your donation to their general cause. Charities are well aware that helping the community is more effective but they also know they can garner more financial support if their marketing leads you to imagine your money is going straight to one vulnerable child.

At the CanAssist African Relief Trust we help communities. To pick one child from the many deserving and vulnerable children at a school and ignore the needs of the rest would be counterproductive and unfair. Instead we attempt to assist with general societal infrastructure needs by building latrines or supplying school desks and supplies, water tanks and classrooms. In the last several months alone, CanAssist projects have improved access to water and sanitation to about 3000 children.

This little guy, now about two and a half years old, was the first fellow to be named Stewart Geddes in honour of my dad. They call him S.P. just as my mom used to call Dad. I told Dad this a month before he died. He found it very amusing and touching.

My Dad agreed with this approach. He may have been surprised how his support was affecting so many individuals and how much they were aware if it. There are now three little African boys in different villages named Stewart Geddes. These boys were all recently born to people who never met Dad but who have seen the direct effect of his support to their schools. I recently receive this note.

“I am very happy to have my first son born on 3rd Nov. It is my greatest pleasure to name him after your late father Stewart Geddes. I arrived to to this decision to ensure his good work remains as a legacy to tell and to grow in our children here in Africa,Kenya,rural village of Nyatike specifically.”

Dad would have been touched by this recognition. It bears witness to the notion that one person really can make a difference to individual lives by supporting the community.

Through the work I have done in Africa, I have learned that we must not be discouraged by odds that seem overwhelming. Those of us who have visited African communities are motivated by the sense of hope and resilience and determination that overpowers any negativity. We know that by helping schools and clinics and women’s groups in Africa we are participating in improving what Jeffrey Sachs has referred to as the “human capital”.

I believe that if we support communities to become healthy and educated and self-sufficient Africans will find their own solutions to all of those big problems that seem insurmountable to the outsider.

On Giving Tuesday, December 2, or any time of year in fact, your family can make a difference. Find a charity that works in development work that interests you (there are several local groups working in Africa and around the globe) and share some of your good fortune with them.

My father would have turned 95 on November 30. I will honour his example by continuing to do what I can to help African men, women and children to have improved living conditions. I also hope others will not be disheartened but will see that every small deed of good will has a definite effect on someone’s life. Don’t despair. You can assist.

This is the text of an article that will appear in the Kingston Whig Standard on December 1, 2014.

I had a Christmas cactus for over 30 years.  It grew woody and eventually just gave up the ghost when I moved it from its happy place in my house to my apartment.  Last year I thought I would replace it and bought a small pink plant while doing my grocery shopping one day in November.

This new plant didn’t like the move to my apartment either. It wilted, the buds dropped off and it looked … sickly.  Many of its green stalks became yellowed and wilted and fell off.  I nursed it along and barely kept it alive.  Many times I thought of tossing it but for some reason … it was alive after all …  I kept it.

I moved it to a spot closer to the window in late September. It perked up. Buds started to form.  This week it has rewarded me for hanging in with a fantastic, full display of vibrant pink flowers.  I look at it as the plant’s way of thanking me for not giving  up on it.

This plant has reminded me of a lesson I always try to remember. As long as there is a hint of hope we should not throw in the towel.  Never Surrender.

“Never Surrender”   Corey Hart  1985

Just a little more time Is all we’re asking for

I am delighted to share the most recent newsletter update from the CanAssist African Relief Trust.

We are proud of the work that we do to improve infrastructure in East African Communities  Improvements to water and sanitation is high on our list of priorities.

We received this photo of students at the Wambusa School in Nyanza Province, Kenya, celebrating arrival of a water storage tank for the school. In addition, CanAssist is funding new latrines for the school, benefitting about 300 students.

Today, in Ottawa, it seems that the government is planning to carry on as normal.  This, I think, is an appropriate response to the attempt at intimidation by a fanatic.  Terrorists want to inject fear and disrupt.  By going back to work (after gathering outdoors at the War Memorial to sing O Canada and remember the slain soldier), our Members of Parliament have put actions to their declarations that “We will not be intimidated.”

I am proud of their response. This is what it is to be Canadian.

I do hope that, in the upcoming weeks, there is positive focus on this breach of security in Ottawa.  The easy thing (as with the Ebola crisis)  is to look back and blame and pose all sorts of questions that are much more evident in hindsight than when a problem is developing.  We need to learn from the past but also be calm, patient and determined and avoid name-calling and partisan mud-slinging.

Yesterday was a traumatic day for Canada.  It was reassuring to see a swift, professional and thorough response to the crisis and CBC news coverage was responsible and not hysterical.

I am glad to be Canadian.

Whenever I have international visitors I am proud to take them to Ottawa to see our nation’s capital and, in particular, to roam around Parliament Hill. They are always astounded that ordinary citizens can get so close to our government offices and feel ownership for this part of our culture.

There are usually RCMP security personnel stationed around the hill but they are often inconspicuous and never intrusive or threatening.

This morning, about an hour a go now, a soldier who was stationed at the War Memorial was shot. A couple of days ago, another soldier was killed in a “terrorist” attack by a fanatical Canadian jehadist. That attacker was killed and ISIS is praising him as a hero. What exactly is happening right now on Parliament Hill is not clear.

Canada has recently entered the “war” against ISIS by contributing planes to the international campaign in Iraq. Is today’s event in Ottawa a consequence of that involvement or just an act of violence by an individual copycat.

These two events will likely bring about changes in security. I mourn the loss of our collective innocence. I also know that my home town of Kingston with its Royal Military College and Armed Forces Base will be on some terrorist’s “list”. That thought is sobering.

It was really only a matter of time. What’s next?