Island residents 'Reach Out To Humanity'

Fifty-three year old Paul Martin (no relation to the former Prime Minister, although, he mischievously concedes, the name has enabled him to nab some great restaurant reservations) came to learn about Reach Out To Humanity through another Island resident, Louise Ferland.

Her daughter, 22-year-old Frédérique Vallières, is the organization's founder. Through his friendship with Frédérique's mother, Paul found about ROTH and their upcoming humanitarian mission to Kenya and decided to embark on the adventure, and while there, attempt to climb Kilimanjaro when his volunteering had come to an end.

In an interview with Le Magazine, the bright and eloquent 22-year-old spoke of her eye-opening experience working for The Walk, a school in Kenya for kids living in squalor and the community's enormous needs. Her idea for a new maternity ward came when she visited the existing ward, woefully lacking in basic amenities.

"Three women had just given birth and were sharing a bed and many of them were forced to walk from the labour room to the delivery room. I heard stories of women attempting to make it to the hospital in wheelbarrows," she recounts. "Something had to be done."

This past summer, ROTH came to an agreement with the Health Ministry that their volunteers would fundraise for the construction costs and supervise the erection of a maternity ward and an HIV/AIDS counselling centre in the impoverished Nakuru District of Kenya, and then the government would take over to staff, equip and maintain the centre. Paul arrived in Kenya on June 15th and quickly set to work for the next 2.5 weeks digging a septic tank with a pick and a shovel.

"I have never seen so much poverty, so much chaos and such primitive means," Paul tells us. "What could have taken a couple of days back home, took us weeks. But at the same time, I have never seen so much warmth, such appreciation for what we were doing and such generosity of spirit. I was constantly amazed at their smiling faces and I couldn't help but come back home with a different viewpoint and different perspective on life. Once you've witnessed such things, your priorities change," Paul explains.

"When I turned 40, I ran a half marathon, when I turned 50, I finished a triathlon and my plan had always been to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for my 60th birthday," says Paul. "In the end, I accomplished that goal at the age of 53 and considering how tough of a challenge it was, maybe that was a smart decision on my part."

"The sense of satisfaction I felt when I reached the peak of the highest free-standing mountain in the world is indescribable," reveals Paul.

Not content to simply trek and admire the view, the Island resident also used his trek as a way to promote one of the causes closest to his heart: speaking out against landmines.

When Paul reached the peak, he unzipped his coat to reveal a "No More Land mines" T-shirt, popularized by former Beatle Paul McCartney. He is currently back home hoping to organize a fundraising concert to benefit the Canadian Landmine Foundation/Adopt-a-Minefield organization and has ambitious plans in the works to raise awareness and funds for this worthy cause.

"I hope to continue doing this for the rest of my life," says Frédérique. "I believe strongly in small, infrastructure-building projects that can immediately and dramatically change the lives of people in need. It may only be a drop in the bucket…" she trails off, "but it still makes a world of difference."

The maternity ward was finally completed and, perhaps in symbolic reference to humanity's resilience, the first baby was born on September 11. One drop at a time, one baby at a time, one mine at a time, a sea of change can occur, both in the people who attempt them and in the world as a whole. One should never underestimate the power of that one drop.

For more information on Reach Out To Humanity, you can log on to: www.reachouttohumanity.org. For information on the Canadian Landmine Foundation/Adopt-A-Landmine and what you can do to ban landmines, you can contact: www.canadianlandmine.org.