This blog is not about real estate, or how great Victoria is. It's about helping our kids become great adults by leading by example for them, Finding joy in their communities and giving back. A couple of weeks ago, I got to volunteer at the Oak Bay Night Market, doing something I love, face painting for kids, raising money for something close to my heart, education for impoverished kids in Uganda. Our tent will be up again for the market on August 21, 2013. It was a wonderful evening spent with friends from our church, Providence Community Church, and our kids enjoying the beautiful Victoria sunshine while reaching out to the community around us and teaching our little ones the value of giving. We had a blast. My son managed to eat his weight in donated, fresh baked goodies that he carefully paid for, one at a time. Fuelled by a raging sugar high and the noise and bustle around us, he proceeded to paint his entire face and every exposed centimetre of skin at least four separate times, in completely different themes each time, including times devoted to exploring minions, crocodiles, and ending up covered head to toe with gold glitter tiger stripes .Some how his appearance didn't seem to scare off any of the parents as the little ones lined up to have their faces made even brighter. One of the most asked for adornments was ice cream cones, a no brainer for such a gorgeous day, the days most challenging request had to be a blueberry, for a little girl who, as it turns out, didn't even like them. Thankfully, her standards weren't that high and mottling the blue and purple seemed to help make it more fruit like. Among other things, I learned that nobody likes the silver face paint when there's gold available and that there is no such thing as a kid that says no to added glitter. We also got to teach our kids and community about the realities of growing up in Uganda. 20 years of guerilla warfare combined with poverty, illness and displacement has resulted in almost 10% of the population being orphans. That is a staggering 2.5 million children. Almost half of the country's population is under the age of 14, a full 49%. An additional 21% are between 15 and 24. Only 4% of the population make it past the average life expectancy of 54 years old. Most die of preventable and/or curable diseases. Malaria causes 20% of all childhood deaths, an especially frightening statistic considering that the most effective weapon against it are treated mosquito nets that are unaffordable for most families at a cost of $5. I'm no stranger to tough choices and sacrificing things but I can't fathom losing my baby over $5, the cost of a latte. One of the most effective solutions to end the cycle of poverty is education. For comparison, the average Ugandan adult has received 3.5 years of education to our comparable average of 11.5 years. 100% of the donations we took in go directly to meet the needs in Uganda, managed by indigenous Ugandan Dan Muwanguzi. Through him and Christian model ministries, 46 orphans are currently receiving an academic education. School fees for 1 year of primary education is $210 Cnd. We had such a great time bring happy smiles to kids here and on the other side of the world and got to put some real parenting time into raising compassionate, caring human beings. We will be there again on August 21st, 2013. I hope you come out and find us and enjoy some of the baked goods and get a joyfully, if less than perfectly rendered, duck, balloon, or glittered tiger stripes painted on and get some more info on how we can help kids and families in Uganda directly. We'll see you at the next night market or join us every Sunday in the Monterey Center, 1442 Monterey ave, at 10 am.
Providence Community Church
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