Helping the Third World one stitch at a time

BY ALBERT KRAMBERGER
editor@transcontinental.ca

Dorval resident Jill Stafiej's trip to Uganda last year was more than just a touristy getaway.

She was part of a group of North Americans that travelled to rural villages to teach AIDS orphans and their guardians how to sew. Specifically, they were there to help them sew school uniforms, which are required for students to attend classes. Stafiej will recount her month-long experience during a presentation at the Dorval Library next Wednesday night. Besides a slide show to illustrate her speech, there will also be a display and sale of artifacts and art she brought back from the central-eastern African country.

"It's a very interesting story," Stafiej said in a phone interview. "We went to remote villages that had no heating, no anything. We lived in tents and washed with well water."

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I get a myriad of responses when people find out that I regularly travel to Africa. I have been told that it would be better to just send the money, that what we do really doesn't make a difference, that we are a glorified tour company, and it has actually been suggested that we do more harm than good by visiting this area of the world.

I can only point to the relationships that I have developed, both here and abroad, that will be eternal. Giving the money is the easy part; what about placing yourself in circumstances where you aren't exactly comfortable, -some might even say dangerous, and at the very least, risky.

Our teams are either traveling, working, or ministering when in the field. Our most recent team spent 13 straight days with WOR activity before enjoying any rest near the end of our time in Zambia. We take willing hands and get them to the field to glorify God, and to serve His children -the Orphans. This travel, -this work, is not for the faint of heart, but only for willing hearts. Please consider joining us for a return to Zambia in November of 2008 as we change the future, one child at a time.