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Category: Diaspora News

Written by SUSAN SCHWARTZ

MONTREAL - Belinda Bowes, who works at Concordia University's Simone de Beauvoir Institute, returned recently from Kenya and a visit to orphaned baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an elephant rehabilitation centre near Nairobi. It was her first trip outside North America, she wrote to Applause, and she scrimped and saved for months to make it.

"The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescues orphaned baby elephants," she wrote. "Most are orphaned because of poaching of their mothers for the ivory ... Many of these babies are experiencing posttraumatic stress syndrome. A lot of them are fearful of humans. But the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust turns them around. They rear these babies and, with the help of wild elephants, return them to the wild. It is a truly beautiful story."

Bowes is passionate about the cause of these orphaned babies: her son fostered her first elephant for her last Christmas - anyone can foster a baby for $50 U.S. a year - and she has since fostered 13 more elephants, she wrote.

Before her trip, colleagues and friends donated blankets and sunscreen for the elephants.

"The sunscreen is for the babies' ears, as the mother usually acts as a cover for the babies. As the mothers are dead, the babies need extra help against the strong African sun. As for the blankets, the babies are usually kept warm by their mothers at night. As their mothers have been poached or killed, the babies are again in need of outside help.

"This is a story that really needs to get out there. Poaching of elephants and rhinos is at an all-time high in Africa. It is disastrous. What I have done is minuscule when the whole picture is taken into account," she wrote.

To learn more, go to sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.

AMI-Québec, an organization that helps families cope with the often-devastating impact of mental illness, is holding an open house and a book launch Tuesday for its new cookbook, Food for Every Mood. The cookbook, an initiative of the organization's fundraising committee, is the result of the efforts of volunteers who worked on the project for nearly two years.

Many people contributed recipes, which are clear, easy to follow and interesting, featuring such dishes as fire-roasted salsa and Swiss chard and butternut squash soup, quinoa and black bean salad and miso-crusted cod. A section called Sweet Endings is devoted to desserts, from rocky road brownies to easy biscotti.

The book launch is at the offices of AMI-Québec, 6875 Décarie Blvd., Suite 300, between 3 and 7 p.m. The book costs $40 and proceeds will help support AMI programs.

The event will feature complimentary gift wrapping of books purchased, wine and cheese, a sampling of selected desserts from the cookbook, and an opportunity to learn more about the organization's services and programs.

The book is available at the following locations, in addition to the AMI offices: Ritsi, 4863 Sherbrooke St. W.; Lindaz, 2360 Lucerne Rd., Suite 6; Les Nettoyeurs Astra, 5802 Côte St. Luc Rd.; Annie Young Cosmetiques, 6775 Décarie Blvd.; Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors gift shop, 5700 Westbury Ave. Visit amiquebec.org to learn more about the organization.

Montreal native Jordan Blackhurst ran more than 60 kilometres across the island of Montreal on Nov. 12 to raise money for the Canadian Diabetes Association. He raised more than $4,500 - more than six times his original goal of $750. "The support kept pouring in," he said.

His sister, Samantha, learned in 2004 that she has Type 1 diabetes.

"This year, I dedicated my 32nd birthday to my sister," Blackhurst said. "I remember the difficulties she faced when she was first diagnosed, having to make some major life changes."

The run took him just over 7½ hours; along the way, he was met with support and enthusiasm from family and friends. His father, Barry, and his best friend, David Curleigh, bicycled alongside him.

"I didn't know what to expect when I set up this challenge," said Blackhurst, who planned the route himself.

"Now that I know the kind of support I can get, I'm planning on doing the run again next year - with the goal of getting more people involved and raising more money. I want to do whatever I can to help push the search for a cure."

NOVA West Island raised $10,000 at its Evening of Fine Dining and Conversation, held Oct. 18 at Joe and Debbie Reda's Il Mezzogiorno Restaurant in Kirkland and attended by 90 people. The funds raised will be used for Nova West Island programs, which include inhome palliative care and bereavement counselling, footcare clinics and adult day centres for the frail elderly. There is no charge for any programs.

NOVA West Island is a notfor-profit, volunteer-driven community-based healthcare charity providing care to vulnerable individuals. To learn more about its services, call 514-695-8335 or visit novawi.org.

The Douglas Mental Health University Institute has announced the creation of the Standard Life Centre for Breakthroughs in Teen Depression and Suicide Prevention. Standard Life will invest $1 million in the centre, to be directed by child psychiatrist Johanne Renaud, and its mission will be to improve the access of youth to mental health services and to evaluate the efficacy of different treatments for depression and prevention methods, for depression and suicide among young Canadians.

The centre also will distribute educational materials to anyone who can use them and offer training workshops to health-care providers, community organizations and other partners. Suicide is second only to road accidents as a leading cause of mortality among Canadian teens. Depression, a leading cause of youth suicide, affects about 17 per cent of adolescents.

Judy Martin, president of the board of the Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2011 from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The Batshaw Centres provide services to children and families in situations of sexual and physical abuse, neglect, serious behaviour problems and delinquency.

A panel of jurors, including Sen. David Angus, chairman of the board of the Mc-Gill University Hospital Centre, Andrew Carter of CJAD and Jean-Pierre Desrosiers, a partner at the law firm Fasken Martineau, recognized Martin for her long-term involvement at Batshaw Centres and for her outstanding support to several other organizations.

applause@ montrealgazette.com