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In the spring of 2005 the Teddy bears of Hope campaign was born! It was a response to the devastating December 26th Tsunami that hit the Southeast Asian shores. The campaign was designed to be “for the children, from the children.” The idea being, that what a child treasures most when fear or uncertainty strikes is their comfort object, like a teddy bear.
Promotion and collection was underway! Children from across Canada donated stuffed toys for the cause. Thousands of teddy bears were collected and sorted. It was up to MCI and several organizations to deliver the goods.
On June 12 2005 I boarded a plane to Sri Lanka with a representative from ADRA Canada. ADRA Canada stands for Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and it just so happened that this organization was my platform organization as Miss Canada International. ADRA was already on the ground and active in Sri Lanka, which made this effort work even better! Together MCI and ADRA worked on the Sri Lanka project. Due to trade laws and regulations “red tape” almost prevented the teddy bears from being allowed into Sri Lanka but effort, prayers, and negotiation allowed the project to move forward. Looking back I am convinced it was a miracle, and what a joyful blessing it was for the orphaned children in Sri Lanka!
I arrived in Colombo on June 14th 2005 where we were debriefed about the political situation in Sri Lanka. We were told that due to the uncertainty of rebel groups we would need to be prepared at all times to leave the country in a moments notice. Uneasy and worried that our efforts might be wasted it was hard to sleep that night (as well the jet leg time difference of 13 hours contributed to my restlessness). On June 15th I met with Mr. Jonathon Wheatcroft, the Acting High Commissioner to Canada at the Canadian Embassy in Sri Lanka. Mr. Wheatcroft informed us of the work that Canada was playing in the humanitarian efforts and commended the efforts of Canada’s youth in contributing to our project.
The next four days were filled with travel to Kandy, Galle, Bentota, and Matara where we visited children in schools, orphanages, and temporary relief camps. In these places we handed out hundreds of teddy bears and joined in cultural activities.
The trip to Sri Lanka changed my life. Until you have witnessed children with nothing, who are overjoyed to receive a new piece of clothing and a small toy, thankfulness becomes a real feeling. The children I met re-confirmed my love of kids and it inspired me to change my career focus from Law to Teaching.
People who do philanthropic and humanitarian work have a genuine desire to make a difference. There is selfless love in their hearts, and a burden to make change, these people and organizations are valuable assets to our world. I was impacted in a powerful way by the work that I observed and was apart of while in Sri Lanka. The sad reality is that more can be done. Supporting efforts like the Teddy Bears of Hope, and various other world organizations that help children are huge! The tugging at your heart strings is not imagined, we are called to help people, as humans I believe it is innate within our nature. Get involved, Get inspired, And GIVE! In closing, a quote that fits the Campaign perfectly reads:
“Where there is love, there is hope” ~Riva~
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