The Forth One.

After a week of traveling Ontario with the Finance Committee for Ontario’s Pre-Budget Consultations, I’ve finally arrived home. Prior to securing my co-op placement at the Legislative Assembly, my knowledge of politics consisted of a 5-page essay on “what is Democracy?” in Intro to Political Science 101. Slowly, I am beginning to comprehend our Canadian political system along with the history and tradition behind it. For example, “Pre-budget Consultation” may be a foreign concept to some, however when fully explained the idea gains life and becomes something one is able to make sense of. The Pre-Budget Consultations are meetings held in various locations around Ontario for any organization or individual to make an appearance before a set of MPP’s (who form the committee), and suggests their views as well as specific recommendations for Ontario’s economy.

After attending these meetings, I can safely say I am now able to check “politician” off my list of careers to not consider. As fortunate as I was to have the opportunity to travel around Ontario for these public hearings, listening to organization after organization argue their case as to why they deserved or required additional funding became overly aggravating. Allow me to further explain myself.

Every organization from the Association of Ontario Neurologists to Dealfblind Associations and Health Coalitions to Voices Against Poverty each made 15-minute presentations voicing their concerns. Initially, after hearing the first presenter, I was inspired by the work they do and convinced I would be satisfied knowing my tax dollars would be going to a good cause if the recommendations presented by this organization were to be implemented. Unfortunately, almost every single organization presented a strong case leaving me open to question “who deserves help most?”

As a politician, I’ve learned that your constituency elects you because people have faith that you will make the right decisions on their behalf. But who is to determine what the “right” decision entails. We are all aware that Tobacco is an extremely harmful drug with irreversible effects, however does this invalidate the fact that thousands of farmers in Northern Ontario are able to feed their families and put a roof over their heads because of this product. Even organizations such as the Tobacco Industry bring controversy to the table regarding funding.

In a recent 2010 report entitled People Without Jobs, Jobs Without People the future of Ontario’s labour market is thoroughly analyzed and projected numbers and percentages of labour shortages in Ontario are presented. After numerous organizations made references to this report, I took it upon myself to look further into what it discusses. According to the report, the vast proportion of our population is currently in their prime working years (15 to 64 years in age), however this year, 2011; the average baby boomer will reach the age of normal retirement₁.  By late 2011, the projected growth assumption yields a deficit of 40,000 workers and rises to 800,000 by 2026₁. In order to maintain our Canadian economy it is becoming increasingly essential to find a new labour workforce to fulfill this gap. The report suggests two key areas for growth, which I find particularly important and will further address.

The first of which is the under-represented labour force of people with disabilities. The report states that “using 2006 census data, the participation rate for persons with disabilities between the ages of 15-64 was only 54.9%. For all other Ontarians it was 77.3%, a difference of 22.4%₁.” It is obvious that there is room for growth here. A large portion of this problem relates to the fact that the current ODSP program is in fact counter productive as it punishes those who are disabled and want to work by taking 50% of their profits. I could expand further on this, but it could quite possibly be a blog topic of its own.

 The second area of growth relates to the increasing demand for skilled labour. With a high school drop out rate of 68% we have a large proportion of youth who will remain unemployed or fill unskilled jobs₁. A substantial proportion of these youth come from lower socio-economic families. Relating back to the Pre-Budget consultations, organizations such as 25 in 5: Network for Poverty Reduction and Put Food in The Budget have stated that without food, kids don’t learn. Tracing back to the question of “who deserves it most”, my own analysis of this relates to the necessity required for all human beings: food. Sure hydro cuts and tax credits do wonders for those organizations who are looking to keep their bank accounts full, but I think what is more important is keeping stomachs full. Without food no one learns, and when no one learns, no one works.

By helping to provide food to those who cannot afford it, we are not only helping that specific individual, but I’ve learned through this report that it will actually help to stimulate our Canadian economy.

In addition to this report, some other great resources I’ve looked into this past week are listed below for anyone interested.

putfoodinthebudget.ca

à This site has created a campaign where supporters are encouraged to write a Valentine to Dwight Duncan, the Finance Minister, stating what food means to them. When this organization presented in Ottawa they had a large Valentine for us to bring back to Queens Park for him!

25in5.ca

ensembleunderstands.com

Enjoy!

₁ http://www.workforcecoalition.ca/downloads/people-without-jobs-jobs-without-people-final.pdf

The Third One.

Friday morning. Check inbox, nothing. Refresh. Nothing. Refresh again. Nothing.

Waiting to discover where I will be spending 3 months this up coming summer has allowed me to truly understand the feeling of “anxiety”. Prior to my acceptance to Beyond Borders I had always been interested in traveling to a developing country to volunteer. I had been exposed to various opportunities to do so, however I never built up the courage to follow through with my desire to participate.  Most focused on the religious experience of “mission trips” or were too costly with few opportunities to fund raise in order to offset the cost. When introduced to the idea of Beyond Borders, I knew this was the opportunity I had been looking for, but had doubt in my mind that I had the ability to follow through with the process. I’ll apply- but I won’t get an interview. I’ll go to the interview-but I’ll back out if I don’t like it. I constantly made justifications that would allow me to rationalize applying for such a drastic life experience. Shocked to be here today, ready to embark on my travels, I am amazed with myself that I have come this far.

Refresh. Check again. Refresh….

The long anticipation of discovering my placement has cieced (for a while at least).  When reading the e-mail from Joanne, all I could think was “okay Joanne, get to the point. WHERE AM I GOING?!”. And then, in the last paragraph, 2nd sentence Your placement will be Kariobangi, Kenya working with Education 4 Life.  Then came the water works. Worried, relieved, stressed, excited, scared, speechless, and yet wanting to tell everyone I knew. I was going to Africa!

Worried. What were my parents going to think? I had told my family my #1 request was Uganda and they had told their friends, and the word was passed along. Never did it cross their mind that their daughter would actually be living in the most dangerous placement location, let alone a slum.

I figured I would do some research. Try to ease their worries with some positive (safe) information about Kenya before breaking the big news. To my horror, Google did not do me justice. “Kenya: Police target illegal gangs after Kariobangi” and “Kariobangi Murders” were the only articles I could find.  I have yet to share this information with them, so if an entry is not posted next week from me, you can assume why.

This past weekend I’ve begun to further investigate the country of Kenya and gather as much information as I can. Although I wish I had the ability to spend more time on this, I’ve also been given the opportunity to travel with the Finance and Economics Committee for the Pre-Budget Consultations hosted in various cities around Ontario. I will touch on this in my next blog as I have numerous points on this that I am excited to share with you.

For now, this is the end of Blog Three. As I continue to discover more information regarding my placement I will update.

The Second One.

Can I begin by saying I hate blogging? I’m not sure if this is allowed but it needs to be said. I HATE BLOGGING! I officially discovered this about 3 hours ago when I sat down to develop a topic for this one.

After having gotten that off my chest, I suppose it’s time to begin. For those of you who don’t know, I’m currently on a co-op term working at the Ontario Legislative Assembly in Toronto. Because of the distance, I won’t be attending the Working Centre in Waterloo like my fellow classmates, however I have found a great organization right in my hometown of Oakville called Community Living. Community Living is a not-for-profit organization that is devoted to ensuring that people with developmental disabilities are able to enjoy their right to lead active and productive lives in their community₁. The combination of working with a diversity camp this past summer as well as reading Jean Vanier’s Becoming Human, encouraged me to continue this passion of mine further.

As I mentioned in my first blog, I used to think I could save the world. However, my superman dream was slowly brought back to reality after realizing how truly complex our world problems are. Throughout RS283, we focused our attention on the Millennium Development Goals and quickly learned how each target was somehow intertwined with another, disabling the ability to accomplish each distinct goal at a time. Despite this depressing news, I’ve also gained hope by briefly learning about some amazing people who have founded the various organizations we will be working with both in our home communities and abroad. As Vanier states in Becoming Human:

"But let us not put our sights too high. We do not have to be saviours of the world! We are simply human beings, enfolded in weakness and in hope, called together to change our world one heart at a time (163)."

This quote really inspired me to continue on my journey with Beyond Borders as I know even if all I help is one person, it’s a step in the right direction.

By beginning my volunteer placement close to home with Community Living Oakville, my hopes are that it will provide me with the opportunity to gradually become comfortable with being uncomfortable. By this, I am referring to the infamous statement referenced often in our Beyond Borders class “when you’re out of your comfort zone, it means your learning”. For me, being pushed out of my comfort zone varies from being shy on my first day of work or raising my hand to answer a question in class to having to people someone with a mental disability twice my size screaming at me or having to witness a mother abusing her child. Whenever placed in uncomfortable situations, that rush of adrenaline kicks in helping me to overcome whatever obstacle I encounter. The feeling of looking back, even for a brief moment, at what you just accomplished always makes that feeling of scared/awkwardness seem so miniscule, and your overall achievement even more worthwhile.

Although I have yet to begin this placement, I’m excited to encounter new and exciting challenges. By becoming used to being faced with difficult situations at Community Living, my hopes are that this will help to prepare me for being thrown WAY out of my comfort zone when I reach my new 2011 summer home. Things like not having running water, little sanitation, learning new customs or languages and seeing how people in the developing world live day to day, is going to be a challenge. I don’t know if there is anything here that can truly prepare me for this “uncomfort” that I will face in less then 4 months. I guess we’ll find out soon!

Before I sign off on this blog, I’ve made a list of things I hope to discuss in future blogs. This will hopefully help me to develop ideas faster and eventually maybe I’ll even enjoy writing publically (I don’t have high hopes on this one!).

1.    1. Things I’m excited/worried for

2.    2. Things I hope to accomplish while I’m there

3.    3. A brief history about the country I’ll be traveling to

4.    4. Things I have to keep in mind while in my host country

(Whew, I did it! I made it through my first blog --defiantly not within my comfort level yet. I’ll work on it.)

Until next time, you stay classy Waterloo!

peace and love,

sam.

The First One!

Growing up I've always wanted to travel to a developing country and volunteer (preferably Africa) and after being introduced to the Beyond Borders program I knew this was the perfect opportunity. Although it seems intimidating and potentially unsafe, the fact that I will be traveling and volunteering alone without any of my other Beyond Borders members is one of the reasons why I applied to this program. (However, after becoming good friends with everyone, I'm starting to think otherwise!) This will give me the opportunity to grow as a person and experience things I normally wouldn't have if I was in a group situation. 

After taking the RS282 course for this program last semester I've realized that volunteering abroad isn't going to change the world. This was really hard for me to grasp. However, I do know that I can make an impact. I'm also hoping that by following my blog, people here will become informed by having the opportunity to see what it's really like to live in a developing country. 

Even though I'm going to miss everyone, I am SO incredibly excited for this!

Enjoy my blog and learn from my experiences as I encounter the developing world. 

so much love (L). 

Sam