Upcoming Events Celebrating “Black History Month”:
Jan 14 – Appreciation Event – tickets $10 each
Feb 04 – Opening Ceremony – Museum London – 12:00-4:00pm
Feb 18 – Symposium – CCLC – 2:00-5:00pm
Feb 20 – Children and family Program – Children’s’ Museum – 11:00am – 3:00pm
Feb 26 – Closing Gala – Central Library – 2:00-4:00pm – tickets $12

Contact:
Christina Lord (clord3@uwo.ca) for tickets to the events International Program Coordinator Brescia University College www.brescia.uwo.ca 1285 Western Rd. London ON N6G 1H2 (519) 432-8353 x 28012

February is Black History Month  2012 theme is : discovery and reflection
Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the US and Canada in the month of February, while in the UK it is held in October.

The remembrance was originated in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson as "Negro History Week". Woodson chose the second week of February because it marked the birthdays of two Americans who greatly influenced the lives and social condition of African Americans: former President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. VISION: The goal of the London, Ontario Black History Coordinating Committee is to engage the community in celebrating Black History Month through organizing, supporting and collaborating with community organizations on programs and activities that are available in the region to educate, inform and uplift. The dates and times and places of events will be posted on Committee’s website: http://www.icclc.org/ or email house@cclc.org or phone 519-432-1133 ext 240

Toonies for our Troops (Nov.-Dec. 2010)
Dear Friends and supporters of the recent "Toonies for the Troops" encouragement cards:
 
Much to our surprise and utter delight, St. Anne's Church received a hand-written personal letter which was written by Sgt. Timothy Perry after receiving one of our cards.  The card, signed by "Sophie" reached him in the CF Health Services Unit located in the notorious Panjwaii area of Afghanistan.
 
Please take a breath, read this attachment and perhaps even hum "O Canada" or "Hymn To Freedom".
If you wish to send him a postcard or note Sgt. Perry's mailing address is:
Perry TJ, 951, Sgt.
LdSH(RC)-HSU, TF Afghanistan
PO Box 5058 Stn. Forces
Belleville ON
K8N 5W6
 
Once again the Friends of Nairobi appreciate your support of  this project.  Merci.
 
Sincerely
Louise K  (aka the Cantorion jls)
London ON (for The Friends of Nairobi  - St. Anne's)

Canadian Sgt. Perry responds to "Toonies for the Troops” card 2010
Dear Sophie and Congregation, (St. Anne’s Anglican Church – London ON)
Thank you so much for the card. It was nice to see a piece of mail from home.  I am from Chatham ON and went to the Anglican Church in Dresden ON with my grandmother and aunt. I found your card to be most comforting as I received it on the 27th June the day after we lost my friends Pte. Andrew  Miller and MCpl.  Kristal Giesebrecht.

Life here goes from monotonous to furious quite quickly so any piece of mail is awesome.  Canada and here are completely different as you can imagine.    A little girl, maybe six years old was beaten by her older brother for accepting candy and water from me while we were on patrol.  In their culture, women of all ages must follow the direction of a man, no matter what his age.  This affected me deeply, as I have four sisters and a niece and could not fathom this concept until seeing it first   hand.  The average person of this country has next to nothing; they salvage everything and live in fear of reprisals for helping NATO Forces.  The Taliban oppress their own people heavily and spread insane propaganda as to why Canadians are here. 

Our soldiers are out every day amongst this suffering and I am proud to be serving a free and rich nation where a simple fiscal tax allows children to learn and gives us food and clean water.
Many thanks for your continued prayers and tokens of affection.
With sincere gratitude
Timothy J. Perry                                  
Sergeant      Health Services Unit

Toonies for our Troops (Fall 2010)
Newspaper story written by Paul Watson, Toronto Star
The moment she saw the poppies, she knew.  Lush, deep red and in full bloom against a backdrop of green grass, they looked picture perfect, Louise Keskinen, quickly took out a little camera from her bag and took photographs.   That was last summer outside a school in Seaforth, Ont.

Almost a year later, the photograph, neatly glued on a white card, with a short but poignant poem inside the flap, was posted to Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. It arrived at Sperwan Gar, a base west of Kandahar, on Monday — the same day Sgt. James MacNeil was killed by a bomb while on a foot patrol.  He was the 148th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Back at the base, the card was placed on a table next to a message from Belleville: a piece of lined paper containing the words “Canada loves you” written in what looked like a child’s hand, in red pencil.  Keskinen’s poem, an ode to Canadian soldiers, was written by the retired elementary school teacher in London, Ont.
On Tuesday, her voice trembling, she said a quiet prayer for the dead soldier.  “I didn’t even know that the cards had reached our soldiers,” she said. “You know, I don’t write poetry but those verses just flowed. Because they were for our soldiers.”  Keskinen, who attends St. Anne’s Anglican Church, belongs to a group called Friends of Nairobi, which helps a charity with running an orphanage, school and clinic in the slums of Korogocho in Nairobi.

To raise money for the charity, the group started a project called: Toonies for the troops. For a toonie, people could buy a beautiful card with a poem inside, sign their first name and the card would be mailed to soldiers in Afghanistan. The money would go to the charity in Nairobi.

This spring, they sold 97 cards. Keskinen posted them on June 7. One, addressed to Canadian Forces Member, Op. Athena, arrived at Sperwan Gar on Monday.  It was a very emotional moment for the soldiers.

She mailed all the cards for soldiers with Op. Athena “because they are in the area where the conflict is the worst. We feel very strongly about our soldiers . . . sending them cards is a small way to let them know they are valued,” said Keskinen, who made and posted 73 cards last year.

The cards were bought by parishioners and some members of the Cantorion Choir.  The one that arrived in the mail at Sperwan Gar on Monday was bought and signed by Judy Brown, conductor of the choir.  “When Louise showed those cards, I quickly bought one,” said Brown, 65. “It was for our soldiers, who are doing so much for us . . . there was nothing to think about.”  When she found on Tuesday that the card had been delivered the same day as MacNeil had died, she was overcome. “It’s too much to absorb. What I did was teeny . . . people need to do as much to tell our soldiers that we care.”

But the card, in a white envelope with a Maple Leaf sticker on the flap, almost didn’t make it through.  The mail, in two crates, was delivered by a Russian helicopter Monday. As it landed, the chopper came under fire from insurgents. They missed — and the mail got through.
“I don’t know what impact the card had,” said Keskinen. “But I’m glad it got there.”
Dear Friends and supporters of the recent "Toonies for the Troops" encouragement cards:
 
Much to our surprise and utter delight, St. Anne's Church received a hand-written personal letter which was written by Sgt. Timothy Perry after receiving one of our cards.  The card, signed by "Sophie" reached him in the CF Health Services Unit located in the notorious Panjwaii area of Afghanistan. 

Once again the Friends of Nairobi appreciates your support of this project.
                                    Merci.  Sincerely, Louise K.