Sponsorship Program / Adopt-A-Gran

Why?

On October 13, 2011, Francine Courtemanche returned from three weeks in Bombardopolis. ‘Bombard’, as she calls it, is a remote location in the north-west corner of Haiti where HelpAge Canada donors support over 65 older persons.

It was not an easy mission. She waited three hours for her luggage, and as she stepped out of the airport building, someone took advantage of the chaos and stole her most valuable piece of luggage. The bag that contained medicine and gifts she had collected on her own initiative for the people of ‘Bombard’.

The rest of the trip was not a vacation either. She took a small plane up north, where she was picked up by a 4x4. She travelled for seven hours on a rough terrain, crossing streams and rivers, following mountain paths with the vehicle’s wheels often spinning deep in mud. In Bombardopolis, she stayed at a convent, eating mostly rice and beans. Thanks to fruit trees and small animals that were key elements of a HelpAge Canada project, the community has now more food diversity, including bread from a specially built bakery.

We asked Francine to visit 65 ‘grans’, older persons who are supported by our Sponsorship program. It was not simple. Most were in Bombardopolis itself, but many were scattered all over the nearby hills. Accompanied by a seminarian, Francine went in every direction from Bombard, walking anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, sometimes to see just two or three grans. The retired nurse examined them, monitoring their blood pressure and taking new photographs for their Canadian sponsors.

The never ending rain sometimes made these treks slippery and difficult, but these conditions did not deter her and the only place she was not able to visit was an area that was closed due to a cholera outbreak – a local nurse told her that two grans living there were well, but one had passed away.

It was a tough mission, but she knew what she was getting into: this was her sixth trip to Bombardopolis. Previously she went there with her sister Micheline. They both live in Mont-Laurier, Quebec, and are part of a very active community that raises funds for Haiti.

When she got back home, the first thing Francine did was take a hot bath. “Here we have so much and we don’t realize it. We have water, electricity... and we consume and we waste so much.”

Asked why she takes on such arduous work, she smiles and her eyes brighten: “I like to help them, and I know the sponsors want to hear from their grans... I know every one of them. I know their names, where they live, and they know me. They are so generous... They have absolutely nothing, but if they have something, like a simple mango, they will offer it to me. They have lived through the earthquake, hurricanes, the cholera epidemic and they are so poor. But when you look in their eyes you see hope."

 

Changing a Life for Less Than a Cup of Coffee

We’re all aware of charities that offer aid to children or victims of disasters, but a charity that is dedicated exclusively to assisting poor and needy seniors is extraordinary.

Many programs of HelpAge Canada are truly distinctive. Take for example the Adopt-A-Gran sponsorship program, operating in eight countries around the world. A sponsorship helps a much-in-need grandparent.

My sponsored Gran is Mrs. Annah Ochar of Kenya. She is a widowed senior who had ten children, but sadly, her five sons have passed away and her remaining five daughters have abandoned her. She lives in a mud hut with a tin roof and takes care of her four orphaned grandchildren. My sponsorship ensures that Annah receives food, shelter, clothing, some small personal items and medical attention when necessary.

My $27 a month to help a gran comes to only $0.88 a day. (Less than a coffee!) In turn, I know that her grandchildren benefit as well from the assistance their grandmother receives.

Also, I genuinely like several Changing a life for less than a cup of coffee other aspects of this nonprofit organization. It keeps its administration costs low (only 4.5%). The whole organization has only four full-time staff and engages volunteers for many tasks, from editing to computer support and fundraising.

With groups like HelpAge Canada as part of our community work, maybe Canadians should blow their own horn more often.

Patty Randall is considered one of the pre-eminent experts, writers, speakers and media commentators on the topic of care-years planning in Canada. She lives in Vancouver. Her website is: www.longtermcarecanada.com.

 

Sponsorship Program

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More than one in ten of the most impoverished people in the world is over 60. And for many older people in developing countries, surviving on less than a dollar per day, it is almost impossible to move on from a life of grinding poverty. HelpAge Canada's Sponsorship program is designed to give direct help to some of the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Older people in these countries rarely receive pensions and can be overlooked by aid programmes. By sponsoring a grandparent, you'll be ensuring that both they and other valuable members of the community receive support, at the time in their life when they might need it the most.

For just $27 a month, you can make a tangible difference to the thousands of impoverished and vulnerable older people benefiting from our Sponsorship program.

The Sponsorship program currently runs in eight countries and is delivered through local partner organizations such as the Tibetan Homes Foundation and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. These organizations not only provide the basic necessities to older people in need, but they also act as local community voices, advocating for older people's rights.

Haiti 2011 Update: Le Bon Samaritain

Sr. Eliane, the administrator of Le Bon Samaritan Home and the Adopt-A-Gran program in Ouaniminthe called our office recently. Since it is very difficult to get a call through to Haiti, we took the opportunity to interview her to find out the latest news.

Read more: Sponsorship Program

   

 

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