EDUCATE. INFORM. EMPOWER. Kids Canada connects schools and organizations to help break through the glass walls of cultural stereotypes, gender and racial discrimination, dependency and entitlement -crossing all cultural and economic borders for fun.
Kids Canada strongly believes that our kids can make a difference in the world they live in. Travel is the best way to learn first hand about different countries, its beautiful people and its vibrant traditions. Unfortunately, travel is not an option for many of the kids we work with and mixed in with the positive stories they learn about their friends in other parts of the world, they also absorb negative cultural stereotypes perpetuated by the dark colonial years and the media.
Ignorance often breeds hate, fear and intolerance, leaving our kids with distorted views and unanswered questions about each other. We feel education, information and empowerment can make a difference to the lives of our kids and how they view others, and most importantly, how they view themselves.
We connect kids across borders and continents helping to build relationships through music, dance, photography, video, information technology and joint projects that encourage collaboration and open dialogue. Our kids learn quickly that, regardless of colour, tribe, gender and religion, they are second to no one.
JOINT PROJECTS kids helping kids
WATER PROJECT Our kids in Canada (KC) and in Uganda (UKC) work jointly to raise funds for clean water not only in Uganda but for their friends here in Canada. Access to clean drinking water is not a “developing world” problem -access to clean drinking water is a Global problem. With the support from Daniel Ololia of Tiva Uganda and our generous donors, Wissanji Grandchildren, Catharina Goldnau Ceramics, The Quans and others, who help to top up the funds needed, our kids have placed 14 biosand water filtration systems in and around Kampala, Uganda.
KIDS HELPING KIDS Our kids in Uganda Kids Canada, First Nations Junior and Senior School of Toronto, Dundas Jr Public School and Queen Alexandra Middle School have been working with their friends at St Andrew’s Elementary School in Kashechewan First Nation to raise funds for biosand water filtration systems to support their friends here in Canada.
This joint water project was initially for the Kash community, however, Judy Stephan, principal of St Andrew’s told us that her kids want to give back to a neighbouring FN community who has not been as fortunate as they have been in getting support. Chris Hill, and his grade 5 class at St Andrew’s, gave us the heads up that our project will be put on hold as they face annual risks of flooding when the Albany River thaws each Spring. Sadly, although our winter was mild this year, there has been news that evacuation has already begun starting with the elderly and the young.
“This is the fourth straight year that Kashechewan, a community of nearly 2,000 on the shore of the Albany River, has had to move people because of flooding risks. More than 1,500 people were flown out of the community last spring alone…. Kashechewan Chief Derek Stephen has called on Ottawa to help find a permanent solution to the annual flooding.” -CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/…/kashechewan-to-start-evacuation-early-a…
Could not do all that we do without you here in Toronto – Maria Arone, Celeste Mayers, Cathy Gallo, Melissa Hardill, Loreen Gale, Lisa Lucas, Rachelle Landry, Tony Cassano, Emma Nichols, Rose Kady, Sarah Donald, Nancy Griffith, Kaitlaind Thompson and Lisa Skeete. Thanks for all that you do for the kids in our community and across continents!
HEALTH and NUTRITION Heartfelt thanks to Emma Nichols, Rose Kady, Sarah Donald and Ola Danyliuk of Queen Alexandra Middle School and their students for an awesome bake sale last year that helped to raise funds with their friends in Uganda to purchase 2 wheelbarrows, building supplies, medicinal herbs, Jerry cans (yellow plastic containers to carry and store water), basins (for washing clothes and to collect rain water) and garden tools last year.
GUEST MUD HUT What better way to have our kids in Canada and in Uganda learn about traditional methods of building, and also introduce them to innovative ways to divert plastic waste from garbage dumps and landfill, than to have them work together to build a mud hut in Uganda.
Our UKC kids are helping to keep the streets of Kampala, Bombo and Kirerangalo clear of plastic waste bottles. Bottle bricks are created by filling the bottles with soil and are used in many areas of the world to build houses and other structures. For our UKC Centre – the bottle bricks produced by our kids will be used to construct a traditional mud hut that will be used to generate income as a Guest Hut for our visitors.
“Imagine Kids everyday collecting bottles then selling them to recycling companies yet their parents struggle to get money to invest in bricks!” -Totem Mc. Totem is just one of our youth team leaders who is excited to share our ideas with his family and friends in his home village outside of Kampala, Uganda. The production of bricks require the burning of wood – bottle bricks do not and is just one of the ways our kids are reducing their carbon footprint in their world.
Thanks to our kids at Queen Alexandra Middle School, Dundas Jr Public School and The Lemon Jar for helping to raise funds with their friends in Uganda to help cover building materials, food and to help with transportation. Heartfelt thanks to Emma Nichols, Rose Kady, Sarah Donald, Lori Lock, Kaia Quan-Heffron and Nancy Griffith for your support.Thanks Siya Navaratnam, Emily and Vivian for helping to organize the one week freezie fundraiser and Avery, Devon, Mathew, Anthony and Wyatt for helping to sell freezies.
Amazing posters made by Lori Lock and her students at Dundas Public school Freezies generously donated by: Rose Kady, Sarah Donald and The Lemon Jar.
Samosas generously donated by: Siya and her lovely Mom Thurka Navaratnam.
MICRO BUSINESS INITIATIVES Thanks to our generous donors, volunteers and mentors -our kids not only work together to provide clean water for their friends -they also prove they can make a difference in their lives through business ventures of their own.
BIOSAND WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS Thanks to our mentors at Tiva Water Uganda, Daniel and Wilter Ololia, we are able to create jobs for our youth and our UKC Women’s Group through workshops that train our team to market, assemble and to distribute the Tiva Water Filters. Thanks to Dr. Christopher Mbowa, our kids will be working with the Uganda Olympic Committee to help reduce our carbon footprint by helping to place more Biosand Water filtration systems all over Uganda.
CHAPATI SHOP Our UKC Arts and Technology Centre now has its own shop that helps to provide jobs for our team. Chapatis are in the family of flat breads similar to Greek pitas, Indian naans, West Indian rotis and Mexican soft tortillas.
Funds raised through this business venture allows our team to replenish stock and to push our other projects forward. Thanks to our project managers, Josephine Oyella and Yusuf Byks, for their hard work and ability to take an idea and have it ready to go in record time.
FOOD and MEDICINAL HERB GARDENS With funds raised through our Chapati Shop our team was able to buy seeds for our gardens and a local chicken. Excited to be working with our kids in Uganda and in Canada to help bring traditional food and medicinal herbs back to our community gardens and food onto our tables.
We would like to thank James kalumba, of Fundisha Integrated Association in Kabalagala, for his generous donation of seedlings and Toronto Seed Library in Canada for their generous support.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT The Lemon Jar is a small company owned by 14 year old Kaia Quan-Heffron and 12 year old Wyatt Quan-Heffron. They have been supporting UKC and KC since 2011. They donate 10% of all sales to our kids in Canada and in Uganda. Thanks to everyone who supported Kaia and Wyatt this season.
Their Lemon Shea Butter Creams contain Fair Trade organic shea butter from Uganda and your support does not stop there. Surgit Singh, owner of Guru Nanak Oil Mills(U) Ltd. that supplies us with shea butter, and his family employ 40 direct employees and supports 2000 farmers and their families in a village in Lira, Uganda through community development initiatives.
Thanks to The Lemon Jar and your support, we were able to add more garden tools to UKC’s garden shed and provide transport to get a few of our amazing volunteers to our Centre for Martial Arts and Yoga workshops. Thanks Gashagaza George Rucyahana – our kids have been asking me to bring you to the centre for a long time. Thanks Athilai Smail for inviting Carol from Austria to our centre to teach our kids yoga.
WE SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY Kids are our weakness. We use photography, video and information technology to support organizations needing a little tech to jump another level to reach their supporters and potential clients via social media.
Thanks to the generous donations by our supporters over the last 3 years, we were able to donate a few gently used computers, cell phones, cameras and a sewing machine to organizations like PTMOF, Great Valley Children’s Centre, AFSU and Sosolya Undugu Dance Academy, who needed these items to support their projects.
Heartfelt thanks to Gary Smyth and Amy Hoidas for collecting laptops, Harry and Claudia Mac of Downtown Camera for generously donating a camera to Nasawali Phame Emmerton, of Humans of Uganda, to visually capture the faces behind the important stories he collects and for their ongoing support that helps us help kids through photography and video. Heartfelt thanks Frank B. Lee of ZPANGO for your generous technical support.
Please see some of our work here:
Please contact us to donate new or gently used laptops, notebooks and cell phones to our UKC Centre.
We kick start micro businesses and community gardens for organizations with little to no land.
Kids Canada supports the directors of organizations by connecting them to professionals and experts in the field to help advise and to oversee projects. We are able to connect and recommend doctors, nurses, nutritionists, architects, engineers, designers, police and lawyers who have worked with us.
Heartfelt thanks to Geofrey Lukwago and Associates, Dr. Chris Mbowa at Events Medical Managers, Dr. Joseph Steyr and Michelle Heighington of Greystones Health in Canada, Al-Karim Wissanji Architect, Asiimwe Mohammad, Beaches Natural Foods, Frank B. Lee of Zpango and Harry and Claudia Mac of Downtown Camera.
“CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME” An English proverb that reminds us to take care of our own family and those close to us before others. This is an important message we want our kids and our communities to move forward with.
The term “charity” conjures up dependency and handouts and sadly many kids, and adults alike, have been conditioned to wait and/or ask for aid. There are many charities out there to support those individuals . We choose to work with those who look for hand ups, and not handouts, from organizations and foreigners.
Heartfelt thanks to all of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers who help to mentor and push our initiatives forward. Thanks Fred Kizito for donating 50 kilos of Beans to our UKC kids in Bombo! Recently, Crusha Bornz of Krump Uganda also showed our kids love with a cash donation that went towards beans for our kids. MCM Evo, one of our UKC mentors, travels to our centre with his camera and his laptop to share photos and movies with our kids. He often brings friends along to train the children in various fields. Our Co-directors of our Music, Drum and Dance projects, Josephine Oyella and Yusuf Bykumbi, work tirelessly to not only train our kids but also hold the centre together.
Food donations such as beans, sugar, cornmeal (posho) and rice help support our team leaders and our kids during training and the running of programs at the centre. Mama Mukulu and Jaja, our neighbours, often generously share their food with our kids while Esther Mirembe, Geofrey Lukwago, Dr Christopher Mbowa, Ntulume Festus Martin, Mohammad Assimwe, Racheal Namuyanja, Lawrence Okello, Grace Nakwang, King Riveen, Sophie Tumwesigye, Perez, Lydia, Totem Mc, Seggy and Mugera Spin Godfrey are never too far away.
Heartfelt thanks to all of our donors and our growing number of amazing mentors and supporters. We can not do all that we do without each and every one of you. Please let us know how you can help keep our projects and kids moving forward. 🙂
PLEASE NOTE WELL: UGANDA KIDS CANADA and KIDS CANADA are no longer affiliated with Noah Nuhu Nabeeta of UMDA Uganda Music and Dance Academy, Solome Nanvule Ssembeguya of PTMOF Teen Mothers and the The Nggaali Project
KC and UKC are not accountable for any funds donated to the directors of the above and their affiliates.
KIDS CANADA 