HELPING PEOPLE
HELP THEMSELVES
Our Projects.
Project Africa - Eric Lefebvre
Eric Lefebvre founded and directed project Africa which includes a school complete with library, cafeteria, dormitory for girls, classrooms and laboratories. Using donations from Canadian residents, the high school's construction took several years to complete and is now used by about 1,500 students. The school was developed by the Sisters of Mary and has since been taken over by the Ugandan Ministry of Education.
A new project, an orphanage and elementary school was started in 2007 at the nearby village of Salalira. Also in Salalira a medical and maternity clinic have been completed which is partly funded by the Ugandan government. The Gangama Baby Home is also funded through the Niagara Warehouse of Hope and now has a passenger van for the 30+ children at the home. Recent developments include 12 one room units includes solar lighting and water for medical and education personnel, a 3000 sq. ft. dormitory for 75 students with water and solar energy. A 40 ft. sea container shipped full of medical items recently for the clinics will be converted into an on site and a much needed laboratory. This project at Salalira now makes up over 500 people on site, constituting it as a small working village. Eric's son Denis now continues the work in Salalira with Eric's guidance.
BOREHOLE: In 2018 we completed phase one of our Borehole project in Salalira. The well was drilled to a depth of 80 meters and capped with a hand operated water pump. This project will support the 500 plus individuals who currently utilize the facilities (school, medical clinic, orphanage, and convent) in Salalira. Ample water was discovered and was deemed “potable” after testing. Phase two will involve adding a solar pump system and a 5,000 liter tank to provide a constant and clean source of water for the entire Salalira community and outlaying area. See 2020 update in Picture Gallery
Project Nicaragua - Harry Van Belle
Harry Van Belle travels to Nicaragua yearly and visits orphanages in Divino Rostro (Masaya), Hogar Alegris (Granada) Christo obrero Casa de Ninas (Diriombo), Casa Cuna Juan Pablo 11 (Managua), Hospitals in Medico Y Cirujano-Unan (San Marcos) and Bertha Calderon (Managua). He meets with Bishop Mons. Herarra and Ver Aileen Lopez CFO of Caritas http://www.catholiccharitiesscc.org/caritas-society and discuses future shipments. One small hospital in the country used tables to lay their patients on - no beds. They were so excited to receive the hospital beds, operating table, layettes for the new mothers, linens for the beds, medicine for the doctors, and plastic mats for physiotherapy. They will be able to help more patients with the presence of the ZIKA virus. He also visits the Orphanage Cristo obrero Casa de Ninas. Sister Belissa welcoms Harry with open arms. She told them she prayed every day that they would come and bring some soup mix and other materials for sewing because the girls were getting older and needed more attention. Because of El Nino, large areas in Nicaragua are dried up and the people are starving to death. 800 families in the dry corridor are receiving the Ontario Christian Gleaners soup mix http://www.ontariogleaners.org/ . They overwhelmingly thank the NWOH, the volunteers and the Ontario Christian Gleaners for the much needed donations. Click here for pictures of NWOH delivering goods to be distributed by Caritas.
Project Haiti - John de Laat
Because of the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, much has changed and certainly not for the better. Only some of the fallen down buildings have been replaced. Due to forever postponed elections there is very little government control in policing, garbage collection, etc. The streets and ditches are littered in places with heaps of garbage. They say about 75% of workable people are unemployed. During the earthquake, in the large school compound from Don Bosco, all of the buildings had collapsed or were uninhabitable (over 200 students and teachers had died within). Since then two large buildings have been re-built with money from German & Swiss Foundations. Several temporary one storey buildings were built with plywood shipped by NWOH. Here they teach from kindergarten to grade 8, high school to grade 12 and have a teacher's college within. They have a trade school, a sewing class room, and a bakery that bakes 4000 dinner buns a day. Throughout the buildings you can see school desks, chairs, computers, sewing machines. etc. donated by the NWOH. Vegetable soup mix from Ontario Christian Gleaners is distributed during lunch time. I walked through the slums for over an hour. People live mostly in small one room shacks with holes in the roofs & walls. To protect themselves inside the rooms from the rain, they catch the water with plastic sheets strung under the roof. They sleep on concrete floors with 5 or more people in a 9' x 10' room. (This is where the plastic mats are needed.) Rain or shine, they do their cooking and washing outdoors. At Cap Haitian airport Sister Maureen awaited me. She has worked in Haiti for over 50 years and was instrumental (and under her direct supervision) they have built many school complexes. She is very thankful for NWOH for sending containers of desks, chairs, computers, layettes and everything we have done for them. Is it worth our efforts? Are we doing any good? YES, very much so. We dress, and through Ontario Christian Gleaners, feed those children and give them comfort where possible. Through the schooling they receive they will have a better chance to be able to find a job and look after themselves and have a better life. We have a group of ladies who travel to Haiti twice a year and pick up 2 boxes of calibrated eye glasses for distribution. THANK YOU to all our volunteers and our contributors.
Relief Goods for the Philippines
October 2020 from Dick & Elizabeth Devries
Dear Niagara Warehouse of Hope volunteers,
We want to thank you for everything you do for the Filipino people. These two men are delivering a wheelchair that you sent here to a man without legs. This man has never had a wheelchair before and will be forever grateful. Everything you send there is so much appreciated. Even before COVID-19 they were struggling in so many ways. The Philippines have more typhoons, earthquakes, mudslides, volcanoes, diseases, and unemployment than most countries. We are very grateful to the Canadian missionary couple Dale and Gwen French from New Brunswick that have been there for 15 years. They make sure that everything you sent there goes to places where it’s most needed. The containers have been a huge blessing to them as well. The containers make good homes, medical centers, workshops, classrooms and much more. We are also helping out an American couple that have been there for 15 years. Their names are Jo Ann and Kevin Trout. One of the containers is being used for their orphanage. We are looking for a used washing machine for them. At this time everything is hand washed. A Washing machine would give them more time teaching school and sewing lessons. We also thank you for the double stroller for the two sisters. In the beginning of the new year we will be sending another container to the Philippines. Hopefully the coronavirus restrictions will be lifted soon. As soon as this happens, Liz and I hope to go back to the Philippines. We will take pictures and do a full report on your donations. God bless you, Dick and Liz
Nigeria - Abiola Akinbi
A&A MEDICAL HEALTHCARE SUPPLIES AID OUTREACH PROGRAM
'Abiola to Nigeria West Africa'. She organized a Free Medical Clinic which was fully sponsored by A&A Medical Healthcare Supplies Aid (she is the founder); the link below is a News report on the event. (Abiola is being interviewed) https://youtu.be/BR-UusRfKrw She thanks Niagara Warehouse of Hope for all our support. She is opening a clinic in Nigeria sometime in 2018 and all medical supplies will be relocated to the new clinic to help support supplies and medical equipment coming from Canada. These supplies and medical equipment will then be distributed appropriately to those in need. We will keep you informed.
Medical Mission to Peru
Michael Nagel M. Sc., M.D., C.C.F.P
Pre-clerkship Coordinator
Michael G. Degroote School of Medicine
Niagara Regional Campus
NWOH donations of eyeglasses and baby bundles were well received, and they now have a Peruvian Optometrist who will donate his services to assist this population of approximately 80,000. Please check out the pictures of their last medical mission to Pamplona Alta/ shanty town around Lima Peru.
Partnering with the Rotary Club of St. Catharines to ship to St. Maarten Island
Weeks after tropical storm Irma hammered the island killing dozens and causing unprecedented damage throughout the country, disaster relief efforts have poured in to assist the stranded residents who lack proper shelter, food, power or running water. At least 14 people have died, and more than 200 are missing, according to the Netherlands Red Cross. Niagara Warehouse of Hope partnered with the Rotary Club of St. Catharines to help fill a 40ft container with needed relief goods. Please check out the pictures.
AMD for HOPE
Since the very beginning of the atrocious war in Ukraine, Anna Demchyshyn of AMD for Hope has been working tirelessly with Fundacija UNITERS (United Volunteers) to help satisfy the humanitarian medical needs of hospitals and front-line medical workers. AMD for Hope and UNITERS partnered with many hospitals all over Ukraine, mainly in central and eastern Ukraine. The donations collected in Canada by AMD for Hope are shipped by LOT Polish Airlines from Toronto, ON, Canada. The shipment arrives at UNITERS warehouse located at UI. Kolejowa 43/U2, 01-210, Warsaw, Poland. From Warsaw, UNITERS are responsible for the safe transport of humanitarian goods to the warehouse at 52 Pekarska St., Lviv, Ukraine. The humanitarian aid strictly transits through Poland and is delivered to Lviv, Ukraine and is distributed farther, based on the priority of the hospital's request.
For the first three days after Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Anne Demchyshyn cried. She watched the news all day, unable to sleep, with her children tucked safely in their Niagara Falls home, worrying about her family 7,700 kilometers away. Demchyshyn, 33, gathered her thoughts and decided to help. She connected with "Niagara Warehouse of Hope", which gathers hospital and mobility equipment and "Not Just Tourists" who collect first aid and healthcare supplies, including antibiotics. They had 156 boxes ready within days. Saint Peter and Saint Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Niagara Falls offered space to gather supplies, and what began as a small Facebook group, #HelpUkraineNiagara2022, now has more than 400 volunteers to inventory items and set up shipments. AMD has delivered 50,000 antibiotic pills, 90,000 pills of medication for diabetes and more than 1,000 kilograms of humanitarian aid to eight hospitals in five regions in central and eastern Ukraine. The first shipment (73 boxes, weighing 1,002 kg) went out within days and arrived in Warsaw, Poland, last month. AMD is sending out another container to Ukraine this week — sponsored by Niagara Warehouse of Hope — which will include rehabilitation equipment and food donations from Niagara Christian Gleaners. Every day, volunteers bring new items and connect with other community resources. St. John’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church also brought its extra donations. “All of us are just heartbroken,” said Demchyshyn. “Every day, there’s something new and more horrendous than the day before. When we get together, we know we’re packing … and, most importantly, that it’s getting there. That’s what keeps us going.”