special features - wave winter 2015/16

P E O P L E C O M M U N I T Y C U L T U R E

WINTER 2015/16

TULA IN GUATEMALALocal charity has ties to

new national health strategy

Local kickboxer one of the best in the world

CHASE-INGA DREAM

Going Flow withtheJamie Turko is a

man of the river

Wave magazine is published quarterly by Black Press. The points of view or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the publisher of Wave. The contents of Wave magazine are protected by copyright, including the designed advertising. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the publisher.

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Dave Hamilton Publisher

Alistair Taylor Editor

Mark Allan Writer

Eiko Jones Photographer

Mike Davies Writer

Kristen Douglas Writer

Michelle Hueller Graphic Designer

[2] WAVE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2015

1/2 PG

corilair

Publisher Dave Hamilton

Editor Alistair Taylor

Editorial Team Kristen Douglas Mike Davies Mark Allan

Advertising Team Dean Taylor Debbie Baker

Maria Kirley Jacquie Duns Darcey Wood

Graphic Design Team Michelle Hueller Rachael Beckley Kristi Pellegrin Marnie Neaves Tammy Robinson

P E O P L E C O M M U N I T Y C U L T U R E

W I N T E R 2 0 1 5

TULA IN GUATEMALALocal charity has ties to new national health strategy

TULA IN GUATEMALATULA IN GUATEMALA

Local kickboxer one of the best in the world

LocalLocal kickbLocal kickbLocal kickbLocal kickbLocal kickb kickboxer one of oxer one of the best in the worldthe best in the world

CHASE-INGA DREAM

Going FlowGoingGoing FlowFlowwiththe FlowFlow

Jamie Turko is a man of the river

On the Cover:The river man: Jamie Turko – swiftwater rescue specialist, river guide and outdoorsman

Photo by Eiko Jones

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WINTER 2015/16ISSUE #8ISSUE #8

Contents

Jamie Turko – swiftwater rescue specialist, river guide and outdoorsman

9

Curtis Wilson keeps busy making art in what little downtime he has

19

Clearing the Way.....................................5 NVIATS helps North Island First Nations people overcome obstacles to employment

Chase-ing A Dream ................................7 Local kickboxer one of the best in the world

River Man ................................................9 Jamie Turko – Rescuing people and saving lives

The Perfect Match ................................11 Signature Oil & Vinegar is a one-of-a-kind store

Tula in Guatemala .................................14 Local charity’s ties to national health strategy

Council, Carving and a Colouring Book ...19 Curtis Wilson has art in his blood

Spreading Holiday Cheer ......................24 Couple brightens the holidays with murals

The Warm Heart of Africa .....................26 Local woman devotes her life to helping orphans

Their Roots Are Showing ......................28 Genealogy members on quest to learn their heritage

14

Tula in Guatemala – Local charity has ties to Central American country’s

new national health strategy

By Mark Allan

1/2 PGCR OPTO

There’s no better feeling for North Vancouver Island Aboriginal Training Society (NVIATS) staff than helping people who

have given up hope.That opinion comes from Sherry Simms, who has worked at NVIATS for 18 years, as manager since 2011.“I think the most satisfying is when you have someone who walks in your door who won’t lift his head to look in your eyes,” she says in an interview. “When they come back after being there for a week or two and they’re smiling and they want to be there, that’s the most satisfying, and they’re actually able to hold their head up and feel confi dent and no longer fearful.”NVIATS is responsible for employment and training initiatives for all Aboriginal people from

north of Qualicum Beach to Port Hardy as well as isolated native communities on the Central Coast and the Powell River area. It has offi ces in Campbell River and Alert Bay.Since April 1, 2014, NVIATS has trained 1,899 Aboriginal people. Of those, 1,123 found employment, Simms says.There are special challenges, she admits, including resistance to or outright refusal by some employers to hire First Nations People.“Some employers are easy. They come to us to recruit Aboriginal people because they know their loyalty and their strengths,” Simms says.Ski-Hi Scaffolding in Campbell River is especially supportive of NVIATS, she mentions.“Others wouldn’t hire someone who is Aboriginal

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[6] WAVE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2015/16

even if they had every skill that they required,” says Simms, a Métis from Newfoundland. “We try to be positive and work with the employers who want to work with us. We have quite a few.”Everyone who receives NVIATS training gets what Simms calls a pep talk.“Sometimes you don’t just represent yourself in the workforce; sometimes you’re looked at as a complete race. We try to reinforce that, ‘Sometimes you’re representing your entire race, so we want you to do well.’ ”The struggling North Island economy is another issue, especially when employers hire from outside the area.“We had hoped with the John Hart Dam and with the hospital build that we would see an increase (in employment opportunities for North Island First Nations people).“Unfortunately, the majority of workers on both those sites are not from those communities. They’re from Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver and farther away than that.“It really didn’t build the economy in Campbell River, that’s for sure.”The geography adds a degree of difficulty for NVIATS staff, who are responsible for remote North Island native communities that include Hopetown and Kingcome on the Central Coast.Covering such a huge, sparsely populated region is a big challenge for the 10 people in the

Campbell River office and one program officer in Alert Bay.“The cost of getting training to Gilford (Island) or Kingcome can be five times the cost of delivering a program in Campbell River.”As Simms explains, it can cost NVIATS at least $1,200 to send one person to Kingcome for just one day.That’s not the only obstacle NVIATS staff face in their efforts to serve their clients.The society gets the bulk of its funding from Service Canada through the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy.“We haven’t seen an increase in funds since 1996,” Simms notes. “We’re expected to do a lot more than we used to do and of course the cost of living has changed quite a bit since 1996.”That’s an important reason why NVIATS relies heavily on its Community Partnership Program in which “our bands can have training programs that they see as needed in their own communities.“Our Nations know what their needs are more than we do sitting here in Campbell River. They develop their own training programs and deliver them a lot more cost-effectively than we could.”Recently adding the Powell River region to its coverage area adds to the challenge, although there is some good news.“With that we did get increased funding for the

three Nations because Klahoose, Homalco and Sliammon joined NVIATS in April and they did come with additional funds, which we were grateful for.”Expectations on NVIATS have increased dramatically since the days when the society merely paid for training.“Before, we could find a course at North Island College and basically forget about it.“Now we have to have a computer lab for people. We have to offer workshops we never offered in the past. We have to do everything we possibly can to eliminate any barrier they have to employment.”NVIATS provides a variety of programs, including Bladerunners, which Simms says came with a “small pot of funding” from the provincial Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. While NVIATS exists to help First Nations people, the society allows non-natives to use the computer lab for a job search and provides resume advice as well as letting people use a phone or fax machine.NVIATS was formed by the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council and Kwakiutl District Council, umbrella groups representing native bands on the North Island.For details about the society, visit www.nviats.com. You can phone the Campbell River office at 250-286-3455 or the Alert Bay office at 250-974-2908.

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Chase Ingalls is a three-time world kickboxing champion, the current B.C. Men’s champion, Canadian champion and North American champion.

The 23 year-old has been into martial arts, “since I taught him how to do a front kick at the age of three,” his father Jodey laughs, but he only started “taking it seriously” about eight years ago.

Jodey owns and operates Pure Martial Arts on Pier Street, where Chase also instructs the next generation of athletes when he’s not actually training.

“To be good, I pretty much have to live here,” Chase says, looking around the gym, the sweat still dripping off his face from his last training session. “It’s a lifestyle. It’s not a hobby.”

Thankfully, he says, he’s lucky enough to have a father who owns a gym, “so I can come in here and use the bags, train, and take advantage of the training facility. That being said, your body only lasts for a couple of hours of hard training.”

So that’s what he does. He trains hard for a couple of hours at a time. Whatever his body can take. In between training sessions, he teaches martial arts or fitness classes at the gym or goes for a run. In between teaching sessions or runs, he studies his upcoming opponent and other people’s fighting styles. In between these things he fuels up with food. Then he does another training session.

“Eat it, live it, breathe it,” he says. Too bad he can’t also make a living at it, as many others do. It’s illegal to get paid to kickbox in B.C.

“Right now we’re working super hard with a group of high-level trainers to get it legal here,” Jodey says. “It’s weird, because we brought in MMA, which in my view is a much more brutal situation.”

“It’s held back,” Chase agrees. “Don’t get me wrong, it is a violent sport – a lot of people don’t like seeing someone get elbowed in the face. That being said, it’s kinda funny to say, ‘you can kick somebody bare-shinned – which is

Local kickboxer one of the best in the world at his sport

Chase-inga dream


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basically a sharpened baseball bat – but you can’t elbow, and you can’t use your knees.’”

Elsewhere on the planet, Chase says, kickboxing is revered like hockey is in Canada. It’s the national sport of Thailand. In Europe it’s frequently on national television. Glory Kickboxing, the largest kickboxing organization in the world, recently signed a contract with ESPN, the self-proclaimed – and rightly so – “Worldwide Leader in Sports,” to air future events internationally.

“I’m not harshing on Canada,” Chase says. “It is what it is. But Canada’s got world-class fighters that are just unheard of.”

Gabriel Varga, based out of Victoria, for example, recently captured the Glory Featherweight Title in Dubai. But while Canadian fighters in other disciplines – George St. Pierre comes to mind for most people – get national and international recognition, fame, and fortune, kickboxers like Chase work in their father’s gym while trying to schedule two or three fights a year and fight for free to get enough experience to move elsewhere for the opportunity to make a living at it.

And it’s unfair, Jodey says, to say that’s because kickboxing is just violence – that it’s not really a sport. There’s a lot more strategy involved in kickboxing than people might realize, which Chase knows more about than most.

These days, the Internet being what it is, there is a ton of footage out there of fighters doing their thing, and Chase and Jodey spend hours and hours poring over that footage, especially when it’s of fighters they think – or know – he will face in the ring.

“Chase has never taken any serious damage in a fight,” Jodey says. “Not a black eye, not a gash, he’s never broken a bone – maybe a couple of scuffs, but that’s about it. And that’s because we study our opponents so thoroughly.”

Fortunately, Chase has been doing well enough, built his name up enough and won enough fights against high-level opponents that people are coming from all over the world to fight him now, so he doesn’t have to go out and find cards to fight on. People have flown in from as far away as the Netherlands, France and England to meet Chase in the ring.

Sure, he lost his last fight, but he’ll learn from that, and it was his first loss ever – he’s now 20-1 all-time. It also took a fighter with an all-time win-loss record of 38-3 from the U.S. a full five rounds to do it. Chase won his fight before that by knockout just over a minute into the first round.

So as of now, Chase still plans on going pro, despite having to go elsewhere to do it. He and Jodey are starting an intensive 10-week training camp together at the gym in anticipation of joining Lion Fight Muay Thai in Las Vegas. They could use some financial support to make it happen, though.

“We’ve had a couple of people come and step up and support him (financially), but it’s been tough to find sponsorship,” Jodey says, in part because the sport itself isn’t very recognized here. Chase is hoping to change that by continuing to win as a pro the way he’s been winning as an amateur.

Anyone interested in helping with sponsorship can contact Jodey at the gym at 922 Island Highway downtown across from Robert Ostler Park, by phone at 250-286-6980 or by email at [email protected].


1/4 PGLITE SHOP

THERIVER MAN

By Mark Allan

Jamie Turko – swiftwater rescue specialist, river guide

and outdoorsman

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Jamie Turko knows he’s in the news a lot. He insists he doesn’t seek attention and to be honest, we contacted him regarding this profi le article.

“I’m not a hero. I’m not famous. I’m infamous,” he says.Some folks might disagree with his comment about heroism. In addition to owning Destiny River Adventures, he is a highly trained and experienced swiftwater river rescue technician who sometimes risks his life to save others.More about that later. Let’s learn more about the man and his background.Born in the Comox Valley, he moved with his strict Ukrainian parents to Campbell River when he was two. His single sibling is a younger brother.“My family was basically a mill family; they worked in the pulp mill with the lumber mill … we’re an industrial family.”A lumber mill job was not for Jamie, however.“I got fi red from my job and after that I basically started seeking my passion and got into the outdoor world – outdoor tourism, outdoor adventure.”That was no surprise, considering his father and grandfather were avid outdoorsmen. His grandfather, who loved fi shing, instilled that in young Jamie. “I

caught fi sh the same size as me, from cod to salmon.” His father was a hunter, further ensuring his son would spend time outdoors and grow to love it.After leaving the lumber mill, Turko worked for six years with Campbell River Snorkel Tours, then joined Destiny River Adventures in 1999.“I got fully certified as a British Columbia river outfi tters rafting guide.”Taking some time out to “get some of that oil money that was out there” in Alberta, Turko would work on the oil patch in the fall and winter, returning to Campbell River for the spring and summer to enjoy the outdoors.After fi ve or six years of that, he “fully committed to being back home. I didn’t want to be in Alberta anymore. I wanted to be here with family; my kids were getting older.”Returning to Destiny River Adventures, he bought the company in 2011 when the owners wanted to sell. “I was honoured that they thought I was the one who could take over.”He got into Campbell River Search and Rescue in 1996, “knowing these guys are all about outdoors.”Showing up at a training night, he soon learned that he needed certifi cation.

He did what he had to do, and has been in search and rescue (SAR) for 19 years. The amount of time he volunteers depends partially on the time of year.“It varies with each month because when it’s rafting season, I focus on Destiny River.”He’s learned a lot in 19 years about rescuing people, and teaching others how to do it.“I’m a rope rescue team member. I’m also a swiftwater rescue instructor. Of course, that’s my specialty, the water. I’ve become a search and rescue ground team leader.“I’m also a ground search and rescue instructor, being one of the instructors when new people come into the group.”Some of his many other certifi cates qualify him to operate ATVs and emergency vehicles.It’s rewarding to rescue people, sometimes saving lives, although Turko says he’s paying back in gratitude for all the training he’s received.“It’s not that it’s rewarding; it’s giving back to the community.”Priorities for SAR volunteers are important, Turko notes.“We’re all volunteers; we all have our lives; we all have our families; we all have work.”Turko’s priorities begin with his family.


1/8 PGCDN TIRE

People are weekend warriors. They have certain passions in life and they want to experience it but they don’t know how to get out … when things go sideways.

“

“The 43-year-old and his wife Darlene head a blended family that includes his 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter as well as her three children, aged fi ve, six and 10.Priority No. 2 is his job, although search and rescue and working with “a group of amazingly talented people” is clearly an important part of Turko’s life.“I may not be able to respond to all of the calls, but when I can respond, I’m there 100 per cent for that person, for that group, for that family to get them back home to their family safely in a professional manner.”

He has responded to 19 body recoveries in the past 19 years.“I don’t know how many search calls I have gone on for missing mushroom-pickers, overdue hikers, even people who have got themselves into situations they can’t get out of.“When you’re out in the environment, things happen in a fl ash. Some people can get themselves out of that situation; some people can’t. That’s where search and rescue comes in.”How frustrated does he get with people whose lack of preparation and common

sense puts them in danger?“I don’t get frustrated with that,” he replies. “People are weekend warriors. They have certain passions in life and they want to experience it but they don’t know how to get out … when things go sideways.”Turko fi nds it diffi cult to be critical when others screw up.“We’re all human. We all make mistakes. I’m the biggest mistake-maker in my whole life. I have learned the hardest ways when I’ve done something wrong and it comes back and kicks me in the ass, and it takes me down. I’m no better than anybody else. I don’t want to be anybody else. I don’t want to be perfect.”“I know a lot of people claim to be perfect. There is no perfect person out there. We all make mistakes. If we can learn from them, and make ourselves a better person, then it can be positive.”

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It started out as a way to combat boredom, but it’s become a specialty store thriving in Tyee Plaza with an

“incredibly” loyal customer base.

Signature Oil & Vinegar is a one-of-a-kind store that keeps Campbell Riverites coming back for more.

Lisa Whitmore, who owns the store with business partner Sigrid Lees, says the community has really responded to their business which prides itself on being the only place on the North Island where you can get organic, pure extra virgin olive oil.

“People are so loyal to our store, they’re incredibly supportive,” Whitmore says. “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘I’ve been out of olive oil but I’ve waited until I could come into this store to get it because it’s different and it’s special.’

The idea for the store spawned from Whitmore and Lees’ existing wine shop in the Comox Valley. Attached to that business, the pair also operated a giftware room.

Whitmore says, however, that “after awhile that became boring so we started investigating ideas of what we could do with that space.”

Figuring oil and vinegar were the perfect pairing to wine, Whitmore and Lees sought out opportunities for establishing a store that would sell those very products. After traveling to various facilities over the span of three months, the pair opened the fi rst Signature Oil & Vinegar in Comox in February of 2014. By that summer, Whitmore and Lees were seeing so many people from Campbell River coming into their store that they thought they better expand.

The Campbell River store opened in Tyee Plaza in November, 2014 and has been off and running ever since.

And it’s no wonder when all of the products are sought out specially by Whitmore and Lees so that store is selling oils and balsamic vinegars that are consistently rated best in class.

The pair also spend a great deal of time and effort on getting the oil to the store as quickly as possible.

Whitmore says while olive oil has the greatest amount of anti-oxidants of any food product, those qualities begin to decline as soon as the olives are picked.

“In North America, it’s usually already

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declined by the time they get here, so we sourced the planet and we can get them here in store three weeks after being picked,” Whitmore says. “We shop all over the world and we follow the harvest.”

That means for the fi rst six months of the year, the olives come from the Northern hemisphere, places like Spain, Italy and California while in the later half of the year product is shipped from the Southern hemisphere, from countries such as Chile, Peru, South Africa and Australia. It’s what makes Signature Oil & Vinegar unique in these parts. Particularly because it’s genuinely authentic, which can be diffi cult to fi nd.

“There’s a tremendous amount of fraud in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar,” Whitmore says. “About two-thirds of the olive oil that is marketed is fraudulent.”

She cites a study done by UC Davis University in 2010 that tested olive oil from several stores and found that two-thirds came back fake.

“It is diffi cult, if not impossible, to get organic, fresh extra virgin olive oil,” Whitmore says. “There is nowhere else you can get it other than our store on the North Island.”

And to prove to their customers their product is the Real McCoy, all of the products brought into the store are analyzed at an independent lab and their chemistry is posted above the gleaming silver fusti which holds the product.

“The truth of it is right there in black and white,” says Whitmore who will only sell top of the line product. “Olive oil is created like wine, out of 100 points, we don’t take anything that rates below 90.”

The benefi ts to securing such good quality product are many.

A study done by Dr. Mary Flynn, an associate professor of medicine at the Miriam Hospital and Brown University found that “consumption of extra virgin olive oil has been related to decreasing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders, cancer, in general, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Flynn said in her report that “published studies show that no other food comes close to extra virgin olive oil for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease.”

Whitmore says that’s part of the business – educating their customers on the benefi ts of their products.

“Although it is delicious and is a complement to food, there’s much more to it than that – it’s been around for 6,000 years,” Whitmore says. “That is really our thrust. Not to beat people over the head with the medicinal aspects of it but to make them aware that it’s a special product. It takes us back to a time when food was medicine, like how it was 100 years ago.

Sigrid Lees, left, and Lisa Whitmore, are the co-owners of Signature Oil & Vinegar, the only storeon the North Island that sells organic, extra virgin olive oil which has several health benefi ts.

Sigrid Lees, left, and Lisa Whitmore, are the co-owners of Signature Oil & Vinegar, the only storeSigrid Lees, left, and Lisa Whitmore, are the co-owners of Signature Oil & Vinegar, the only store

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People are so loyal to our store, they’re incredibly supportive.

“

“

“And balsamic vinegar, same story. Most of what we buy at the grocery store has never been to Italy and never seen the inside of a barrel.”

Whitmore says there are only two places on the planet that produce real balsamic vinegar and Signature Oil & Vinegar happens to import from one of those very places – Modena, Italy, where the

balsamic is done in the old-world, solera-style of barrel

aging.

“They’re barrel aged 12 to 14 years and they’re infused with

organic botanicals so there’s no thickener, no

sugar,” Whitmore says.

And, like olive oil, balsamic vinegar is also good for your health, as it

offsets acidity in the body and helps to restore a person’s alkaline balance.

Signature Oil & Vinegar offers more than 50 different oil and vinegar products to choose from to get that healthy product into your diet, and at an affordable rate.

“Although the store is pretty, we’re priced just like the butcher or the baker, our products aren’t expensive,” Whitmore says. “At $5, everyone can afford to have good oil in their diet. Once people come in and taste the products, they speak for themselves.”

And customers don’t just have to take

Whitmore’s word for it. Signature Oil & Vinegar is also a tasting bar, and customers are encouraged to sample the different products before buying.

Their best-selling product is the Tuscan Herb olive oil but their most special product is a Baklouti Green Chilli oil, and a vegetarian, lactose-free extra virgin olive oil.

Balsamics of all fl avours, such as black cherry, dark chocolate, tangerine, cinnamon pear, mango and coconut also grace the shelves of the store.

While oil and vinegar are the top sellers, the store also prides itself on selling items local to Vancouver Island, such as their herbs and spices, items from Artisan Edibles in Parksville, product from the Mustard Lady in the Comox Valley and soups and breads from Snowden House Gourmets, which is based in Sidney, near Victoria.

It’s something that Whitmore says her customers see the value in.

“Our Campbell River folks are fi ercely loyal, they really support that we strive to be organic and they particularly support that we strive to stay local,” Whitmore says. “It’s important to us and we see it as important to our customers.

“It’s sort of a unique shop but that Campbell River store is a destination shop,” Whitmore adds. “Right now we

have no neighbours on either side of us, so people are going specially to Tyee Plaza to shop at our store. It’s not that we have people who happen to just be walking by and wander in.

“There is really an understanding of the need for quality food products to get back to a simple, healthy way of eating.”

Sigrid Lees assembles their signature olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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You can’t do without nurses. If you’ve got a health system that’s depleted in nurses, you’ve got a real problem. So that seemed like a good placeto start.

“

“

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Image courtesy Tula Foundation

A Community Health Worker goes the extra mile, hiking into a small,

rural community in Alta Verapaz with his equipment.

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When Eric Peterson sold his Waterloo, Ontario-based health systems company in 2001, he and his wife

– and business partner – Christina Munck had no idea what they wanted to do next, but they had three simple requirements for whatever it would be."First, it had to be something socially useful," he says over the rim of his coffee at a small cafe in downtown Campbell River. "Second, it had to be something we were good at. And third, it had to be something we enjoyed – which would just sort of naturally follow from the first two requirements. I think it was just understood that we were going to enjoy doing something that was socially useful that we were also good at."Around that time, Peterson says, "there was a huge focus on international health," but that focus was mainly on developing drugs and vaccines for specific diseases."It was all about finding the perfect drug to combat aids or a vaccine for malaria," he says. "While those things are tremendously valuable, I thought at the time – and I still think today – that having health systems is

equally, if not more important. How can you deliver drugs, how can you deliver treatment, how can you fight disease if you don't have doctors and nurses and some kind of organized structure in a system that can deliver it?"He says he watched that very issue develop with the Ebola outbreak in Africa. "The countries that had reasonably strong health systems, like Nigeria, did quite well," he says. "The places like Sierra Leone, like Liberia, that had poor health systems … all the drugs and all the treatments and all the interventions don't make much sense if you don't have the capacity to deliver them."So how could Peterson and Munck help? After all, they knew health systems. They'd been helping make them for years before an offer "too good to pass up" came along and sent them off looking for something else to do. Fast forward to May 15, 2015. Guatemala City, Guatemala. The Guatemalan Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS) announces its new national strategy for strengthening primary health care. There will be a renewed focus, the department says,

on maternal and infant health and nutrition and the challenges faced by rural and remote communities.The roots of this initiative, strangely enough, go back in time and across the globe to a registered charity – a Canadian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Heriot Bay on Quadra Island. That organization is called the Tula Foundation – Peterson and Munch's post-corporate-buyout project.The Tula Foundation arrived in Guatemala in 2003, knowing about the dire state of their medical system, especially in rural areas, and brought with them Peterson and Munck's expertise in health systems and the technology utilized within those systems.Over the first few years Tula was in Guatemala, they were examining the issue of a lack of medical practitioners in the country, and were working with a nursing school in Alta Verapaz – one of the poorest regions in Guatemala – and Canadian partners from the Centre for Nursing Studies (based in Newfoundland) along with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to train nurses by distance education to remedy that situation.

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"You can't do without nurses," Peterson says. "If you've got a health system that's depleted in nurses, you've got a real problem. So that seemed like a good place to start."Thanks largely to the dedication and strength of the local nursing school, Peterson says, they were able to make huge strides in training locals in remote communities to become medical caregivers within those communities.By 2007, the other partners had left, and Tula had taken over full responsibility of the program, founding TulaSalud (Salud meaning "health" in Spanish) as a Guatemalan subsidiary, at which point they also began work on a tele-health network to increase and improve communications, training and medical data storage within the country.That tele-health network eventually became an Android App called Kawok.Kawok is a case management system for Community Health Workers (CHWs) – many of which are trained by distance through the TulaSalud distance education initiative – which allows them to

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track public health issues, focusing on maternal and infant health within their communities and into rural areas. They do this by implementing a Community Facilitator (FC in Spanish) who attends to the healthcare of their community and others nearby using Kawok. The FC receives ongoing training through audio conferences and carries out health promotion and prevention activities within their community, both tracking and entering health information into the system to increase communication between populations.It's essentially a mobile healthcare database, storage system for medical records and teaching tool.According to a recent report released by the Innovation and Technology for Human Development Centre at the Technical University of Madrid (itdUPM), a 2011 study of the population and health of the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala showed that of the 1.18 million people in that region, 89.6 per cent lived

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below the poverty line with 46.7 per cent living in what would be considered "extreme poverty." It also cited the infant mortality rate as 20 deaths per 1,000 live births and the proportion of births attended by health workers at approximately 39 per cent.One of the main issues causing these numbers was due to a communication gap between community health workers in rural locations, the organization and transmission of medical information between them, and the midwives and traditional healers within rural and remote communities.There are 23 different indigenous languages used as the first language in various rural communities, adding an additional complication to remote medical care. Kawok helps bridge that communication and language gap, in an attempt to address some of these numbers, and now covers 810 communities in Alta Verapaz.Since Kawok's implementation in Alta Verapaz, maternal mortality has declined in the area of intervention from 309 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008 to only 254 in 2012 (an approximate 25 per cent decrease) according to the itdUPM study, so when the MSPAS was looking to create a national health strategy, possibly shutting down the systems currently in place and replacing them with one overarching system, Peterson and TulaSalud went to talk them out of it."We had an emergency call from our friends in Alta Verapaz in

about December (2014), saying 'Something terrible is happening. They're talking about having a national policy for information technology and health, and it looks as though they might be shutting down our program.'"They managed to get a meeting with Guatemala's Minister of Heath, and were preparing to fight against the cancellation of their program in Alta Verapaz. What ended up happening, however, was much, much more than that.After about an hour of listening to the group pitch their program's benefits, the minister had given in, Peterson says, "and he told us 'your program is safe.' Not only that, but he also said, 'if this program is so good, why are we only doing it in Alta Verapaz?'"It was a good thing they had already been considering ways to expand the program – and had a grant application in with the Canadian government to do so – because they were about to be developing a national "Technology in Healthcare" strategy for an entire Central American country.On Canada Day, 2015, the Tula Foundation received word that they had received that grant.The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada

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awarded the Tula Foundation a $7.6-million Partnership for Strengthening Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PSMNCH) grant, which are "aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality and improving women’s and children’s health in developing countries."That money will help them expand their program into three neighbouring states, hopefully to cover the entire country in the not-too-distant future, saving more lives and increasing the health of women and children in an area having real difficulty with that.Their distance education nurse training program also continues to this day, having trained over 1,300 nurses and many more CHWs to this point.And Peterson and Munck have found their "thing to do" that fulfills their three requirements. They have also found their little piece of paradise, away from big city life, over on Quadra Island.

For more information on the Tula Foundation and their efforts around the world and on our coast, check out www.tula.org.

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Curtis Wilson says that while art is definitely in his blood, he didn't always feel

it coursing through him."I started fairly late, I would say.

I didn't really get into it until I was 18 or 19," he says. "It was just something to do when I was away at college. It sort of grounded me, being away

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from Campbell River, as a reminder of where I come from."But it's not a surprise that art showed up in his life, even if it did take a while for it to take hold."My artistic side comes from my mom's side of the family," he smiles. "She's a Henderson."That's a name people will recognize if they are at all familiar with First Nations art from around these parts. Sam Henderson, Wilson's great uncle, is somewhat of a legend of First Nations art in our region.His awe-inspiring, iconic totem poles still dot the landscape of the region and his carvings, masks, talking sticks and other works are found throughout the world in both public and private collections, including prominent placement at the Museum at Campbell River."I didn't directly learn from him – I was about two years old when he passed away – but I learned from his children, my uncles, so I feel

like I've learned from him," Wilson says. "I try to take bits and pieces from each one of them and incorporate it into a style of my own without veering too far from the traditional styles that were instilled in them."But it's not a 'job'. Wilson says he's never seen art as a way to make a living. "I think that would sort of take the fun out of it," he says. "Art is sort of my passion instead of a job. I do it during whatever time I can find."And that's not much.Besides his full-time job as a Referrals Officer with Nanwakolas Council, who represent eight First Nations from Comox up to Port Hardy and then spanning over onto the mainland, and act as the middle person between the Province and those Nations, "for anything from logging to mining to commercial recreation," Wilson says, he also sits as an elected council member of the Campbell River Indian Band.

My artistic side comes from my mom’s side of the family. She’s a Henderson.

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Oh, and he sits on the board of directors of the Campbell River Art Gallery.And the Chamber of Commerce.And the Museum at Campbell River.And he's involved with the Young Professionals of Campbell River, an organization devoted to the promotion of local economic development, community involvement, skill development and social interaction among under-45 professionals in the area.But thankfully, Wilson can do without much sleep."I can get by on a couple of hours," he laughs. "I'm a morning person. I put in a half-day before most people are even out of bed, most of the time."He also doesn't want art to become a job. He's been there, done that.For a while he was working with various galleries to sell his art, but he found it became too much about marketing and promotion and not enough about the actual art itself.

So now he works privately. Rather than making a ton of art and have it sitting around waiting for someone to fall in love with it, he takes orders for custom artwork, once piece at a time.And that seems to be working."Right now, I'm finding it's just one thing after another," he says. "I'll finish the piece I'm working on right now and have another one to get started on right after."While he will occasionally step back from commissioned work and do something purely from his own inspiration, "about once or twice a year," he likes the collaborative process of working alongside someone who has a vision he can help them achieve."It feels like you're both creating something together," he smiles.

"I'm pretty open in that regard. I mean, there are certain things I need to stick by to keep it traditional," he says, but admits there haven't been people asking for things that aren't what he likes to do anyway, because if they're coming to him in the first place, it's his previous work that has caused them to make that call.Take the piece he was working on this fall, for example."It's a killer whale panel," he says. "It's about four and a half feet by six feet, and they knew what they wanted in terms of colours, and they've had input in it right through the process."While wood carving is still his primary artistic medium, he has also been branching more and more into design and illustrative work.

He designed one of the new salmon

banners that went up this past summer in Campbellton as part of a Campbellton

Neighbourhood Association initiative to beautify the area, for example, and he recently finished a mural on

the wall of a portable at L'École Mer-et-

Montagne.

Check out more of Wilson’s artwork at his website, curtiswilson.ca.

Photo source: curtiswilson.ca

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He also designed two of the images now seen on the Campbell River Home Depot exterior accent walls.And when he can, he makes art for fundraisers and various charities."I always tell people I'm happy to help out," he says. "I get calls all the time about donations. I tend to do designs and get reproduction prints made and donate them," he says, adding that he used to do carvings when people would ask, "but I've sort of stepped back from that. At one stage I was trying to do carvings for everyone that was asking for them, but it just got overwhelming."The concept of giving back, his branching out into illustrative work, along with his work with the CRIB recently led him to create Ba'buk'Sila'tsu Colouring Book, a book filled with First Nations artwork just waiting for colour, in collaboration with Kask Graphics here in Campbell River."Education is really important," he says. In the work he does for the CRIB, education and culture are two of his portfolios.He's in his third term on the CRIB council, heading into his ninth year."Over those nine years, I've definitely tried to not only instill our culture within our own community, but also the outside community," he says, and this is another way he can pursue that effort.

"It's great, because it not only exposes them to our artwork, but also has our language, as well."Under each line drawing in the colouring book – one on each page – the word for what is pictured is written in Kwakw'ala, along with a pronunciation guide in English.Then in the back of the book, there is an appendix that describes the symbols and what they mean in their culture. And apparently, people are loving them."I've already had to put in another order," he laughs, "and it's only been out for about a week, which is awesome."One thing Wilson likes most about the colouring book is that he gets to "see what everybody else sees in the designs.""There are a ton of different ways to imagine the colours going on the page," he says, "and it's fun to see what people's artistic views are and what their visions are for how the colours should go into the artwork." It's still too early to tell what the future holds for the colouring book, but based on the response, he has hopes that it could end up being used within the school system, for example, "to maybe become part of the tools they use, but we'll have to see."Does that mean mass production? Huge

distribution deals? Well, Wilson isn't getting ahead of himself. "I like to keep things local, as much as I can," he says. "A lot of people are telling me I should go get it published (from a major publisher), but I like the fact that it's me doing it and it's a local printing company that's doing it."And it's not like he's making money off it."It's just cool to think that people are getting something of benefit out of it," he says. "If I can break even on it, that's really all I want."So basically he's a local boy doing interesting and important local work, creating art with other local people to make a difference locally, just to be doing it.Like his art itself, that's something to be admired and appreciated.

“

“

I like to keep things local, as much as I can. A lot of people are telling me

I should go get it published, but I like the fact that it’s me doing it and it’s a local printing company that’s doing it.

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Christmas is his busiest time of year. No, he’s not Santa Claus, but the job is roughly the same – to spread Christmas cheer and goodwill around the community.

With a car full of acrylic paint, giant markers and stencils, George Roach, a realtor for Century 21, and his wife Erin Roach, have been brightening up the holidays for local businesses for the past two years.For a short span between the end of November and early December, the couple hit up as many businesses as they can to decorate their windows with holiday murals.“It’s three crazy weeks,” Erin says. “We eat, sleep and dream Christmas paintings.”It’s the perfect side job for Erin, a care aide at the Campbell River Hospital and George, who says real estate slows down in November.And the businesses love it.Jim Costain, the owner of Dairy Queen, was the Roaches first ever customer back in 2013 and says he loves having the paintings done and this year even hired the pair to decorate his windows for Halloween.What makes the murals unique is that the Roaches incorporate the business into the theme. At Great Canadian

Oil change, there is a roadster with a Christmas tree in the back, and at Jiffy Lube, Mater from Pixar’s hit movie, Cars, dons a Santa hat while elves dance around him.

Last year the Roaches even did a complimentary window for Yucalta Lodge – a scene with Mr. and Mrs. Claus for the residents to enjoy.

The pair were also hired to paint the windows of stores lining Shoppers Row, with different businesses representing each of the 12 days in the popular carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. The Roaches also did the storefronts in Tyee Plaza – some of them empty spaces – to tell the story of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Erin says it’s a small way to tie the city together.

“We try to promote community spirit in Campbell River and it’s a way of drawing the community together, it’s a common theme,” says Erin, who adds that it’s also a great way to get involved. “It’s a nice way of getting to know the people who work in the store. You get to meet new people, you get to learn about the business and it gives you the opportunity to network which is important in a small town.”

It’s also a great way to generate business, and providing quality work doesn’t hurt either.

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George says business last year doubled with 40 businesses having their windows painted. The first year the pair did about 20.That first Christmas, George had only just moved to Campbell River from Quesnel six months prior to be with Erin who grew up on Cortes Island and whom he was introduced to by mutual friends. The couple - who married this August – quickly learned they also made a great pair when it came to art and the duo started to approach local businesses to see if anyone was interested in having their windows decorated for Christmas.George was inspired by his sister who has been painting storefronts for the holidays over the past 25 years in Abbotsford. During a visit over the holidays in 2012, she asked George to accompany her on a few

jobs and he was hooked. After moving to Campbell River the following June, in 2013, he decided to give painting a shot himself.Erin jumped right on board.“I have no background in this but he inspired me,” she says. “We’re a good team because we’ve both got creativity and I can do the free hand stuff.”The rest is left up to stencils, which the Roaches design and create themselves after they’ve brainstormed the theme and concept. They also create their own stamps, be it snowflakes or fall leaves for Dairy Queen’s Halloween window.Once the window has been painted, it’s up to each individual business how long they’d like the mural to stay. For a small fee, the Roaches will come and clean the window after the holidays are over.

George says about 95 per cent of the businesses elect to go that route.But clean up is still weeks away, with the holiday season now in full swing. The Roaches are expecting to do more than 40 windows this year and have been at it since just after Remembrance Day, painting as quickly and efficiently as possible.“We try to do them in one day, when we get into the thick of it, we try to do two or three a day,” Erin says.“We try to put a lot of pride in to what we do,” she adds. “It’s going to be done efficiently and quickly and it will be quality work.”Any businesses interested in having their windows painted can contact George at 250-203-5896 or by email, [email protected]

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A relene Lihala went to Africa fi ve years ago knowing what she wanted. “I went there for about a month to volunteer,” Lihala said. “I really wanted to be

hands-on with the children, myself.”

She was volunteering at an orphanage in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, run by a woman from Alberta. Lihala ended up getting what she wanted there and more.

Now it consumes her life. And she couldn’t be happier.

“My heart was leading me to step up and say ‘I want

By Alistair Taylor

The warm heart of Africa

Campbell River woman devotes her life to providing

shelter for orphans


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“ “

I’ve seen children die in my arms. It hits your heart and it really makes you look at what

we have here in Canada.

to,’” Lihala said. What Lihala’s heart has led her to is running an orphanage of her own in Milawi. She is the force behind Chikondi Orphanage.

After visiting Africa and working with orphans she could not walk away and return to her comfortable Canadian life. “When I was in Malawi I saw the need,” she said. “I’ve seen children die in my arms. It hits your heart and it really makes you look at what we have here in Canada. When you have that reality check, you really look at things a lot differently.”

Lihala certainly looks at things differently now. She is driven to do the best for the children under her care at Chikondi, even from thousands of miles away in her home in Campbell River. It stems from her belief that it only takes one person – one heart – to make a difference. Then you create a community of like-minded people and you can make a big difference.

There is a big job to do. Fourteen per cent of Malawi’s children are orphans according to Chikondi Orphanage’s website (www.chikondiorphanage.org). Approximately 1.2 million children have lost one or both of their parents leaving family members struggling to take care of the orphans. It’s diffi cult, nearly impossible, for them to provide the basic necessities of life.

Malnutrition, disease, poor health, child labour and exploitation lay in the future of these children because

they’re caught in a cycle of poverty that will continue for generations without some intervention.

“At Chikondi, we provide food, shelter, medical care and education to some of Malawi’s orphans,” the website says.

“When you see the children and see the need and love that they just crave,” Lihala said, you can’t turn away. Lihala hasn’t and although it can take up to 18 hours a day of working for the benefi t of the children, she couldn’t be happier. “It’s the best thing I ever did in my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

It was Lihala’s vision that got Chikondi up and going but the story really begins with two little girls, Fidess and Shakila. The Chikondi website tells the story:

“Both of their parents had died and the girls were severely malnourished and dressed in rags. Their grandmother was distraught; she was trying to take care of a large and very poor family and couldn’t afford to take care of the twins. Desperate for help, she called us.

“Max (Lihala), Chikondi’s founding father, and Edass, our head matron, travelled hundreds of kilometres by bus to rescue the girls. The trip back to Chikondi was diffi cult and the girls cried the whole way. Once arriving at Chikondi, the girls were fed, bathed and given new clothes. When shown this kindness they

realized it was a safe, loving environment and within a few days, were happily and quickly settling into their new home.

“Soon the word spread that Chikondi was a safe haven for orphaned children. We get regular calls requesting help, and we take care of as many children as we can. It is diffi cult when the resources are low, food costs are up, rooms are full, and we have to say no.”

Lihala’s life is intertwined with Chikondi now. Her last trip there she was there for four months and that’s where she met and married her husband Max.

Now she dedicates her life to the orphanage. In the fall she has organized a fundraising ride from Campbell River to Victoria.

She comes by her desire to help the less fortunate honestly. Strong family values were instilled in Lihala at a young age. Born and raised in Alberta in a Christian family of Scottish and German heritage.

“I come from very good role models,” she said. “My mother was always kind hearted. My mother was my mentor.”

Her family now consists of the orphans and her husband Max who is an orphan himself. “He is an orphan so he understands,” Lihala said.

Family is important in Malawi as well. “The Malawian people are very warmhearted,” Lihala said. “They call their country the “warm heart of Africa.”

The Chikondi orphanage is operated out of a house where the children can receive good care in a clean and safe environment. “They are comfortable. They don’t have lots but they have a bed and they are thankful for that.”

Lihala hopes to create a legacy of caring and hope that continues well into the future. She is well on the way to getting what she wants.

Fourteen per cent of Malawi’s children

are orphans and Chikondi Orphanage

is providing a comfortable home

and loving care to the ones under its care.


1/4 PGHOME BREW

Campbell River Genealogy Society members are on a quest to know themselves and their heritage

By Mark Allen

Their roots are showing

There is no greater thrill for Campbell River Genealogical Society members than helping people discover their roots.

“It’s marvelous,” says Carolyn Henshall, president of the CRGS, whose motto is Lost Families Found. “When somebody fi nds their family that they never knew or they correct a misconception, it’s really wonderful.”

She insists that genealogy is more than a hobby.

“It’s really – who are you? How can you know who you are without knowing your past?”

The society has more than 100 members, who attend meetings and research family trees, helped by a CRGS library in the Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre.

The library is open to the public at no charge, although the CRGS charges a nominal fee for

seminars. The city’s genealogical society has some history of its own.

“They were formed in 1977,” Henshall says. “They started just meeting in peoples’ homes. Then they outgrew that, so they went to … I think the fi rst place they went was St. John Ambulance.”

The group had a library behind the Bank of Montreal in half of the Campbell River Physiotherapy Clinic building until the Maritime Heritage Centre opened in 2002. That location is where the CRGS has its computers.

As Henshall explains, computers and the Internet have an upside and a downside for genealogists. “It’s actually a bit of a Catch-22,” Henshall begins.

“In some ways, the Internet is absolutely amazing. So much is being digitized that people can actually see their records.” That’s the good news.

“On the other hand, the old-fashioned way of writing letters, interviewing people, studying the history of what was going on at the time: People aren’t doing that as much anymore. You know, they are having success, and the Internet is great, but you can’t just go on Ancestry.com and build viable genealogy.”

One problem, explains Henshall, is that this method uses only one source.

“For another thing, people are putting their family trees on there, and it’s not verifi ed. I might see great-great-grandfather born in such and such – this person says so – but if you don’t have proof, you might have the wrong person.” Henshall uses her own lineage as an example of verifi able genealogy. “If you look at my binders, they’re full of certifi cates and tax statements.”

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“ “It’s really – who are you? How can you know who you are without knowing your past?


for travelling to the scene of your ancestors’ homes. “After my late husband died, his cousin and I went to Quebec and we stood on the land that the Loyalists had there, and then went across the border into Vermont and drove up into the mountains and stood on the land that his great-grandfather owned. You don’t get that by going on the Internet.”

Henshall acknowledges that not everyone will go to those lengths. “We try and help people fi nd a way to look in a way that suits them best. That’s what we do.”

Delving into the past can be tricky, Henshall says. For example, historical records are preserved better in some countries than in others.

“It depends where you’re from. In some countries, the records have been destroyed. The censuses were burned in Ireland because they didn’t have peat and they were freezing.”

Henshall managed to track her husband’s family back to the 1500s in England, although she says Henry VIII burned many records in 1537 when he

divorced himself from the Catholic Church.

Henshall has a keen appreciation of history and how it has brought her to where she is now.

“My father was fi ve years old when they escaped from Russia. They were on the second-last boat before Stalin slammed the door.”

The Campbell River Genealogical Society has many activities, including a cenotaph project in which CRGS members research the history behind the names on the city’s cenotaph.

In another project, the CRGS gathers copies of school classroom photos from the region and identifi es students in the photos.

The group will even arrange for a group attending a school or family reunion to visit the CRGS library and view its resources, including a collection of school class pictures with students identifi ed.

The society also recently acquired copies of the Victoria Times and Colonist newspapers back to 1855.

In its mission statement, the Campbell River Genealogical Society states it will strive “to provide a place where people in Campbell River and area can obtain information about family history research and access expertise and resources.”It stated purpose is “to promote the study of genealogy and genealogical research” and “to maintain a library for the collection and preservation of genealogical, historical and biographical matter related to local, national and international family history interests.”The following projects are some of the ways the CRGS achieves its mandate:• Cenotaph soldiers research: compiling the history of all the

men inscribed on our local cenotaph;• Cemetery indexing: includes headstone photos;• Cemetery interment sheet indexing;• Cemetery veteran database;• Pioneer medallion application form indexing;• Local history and family memoirs book indexing;• Voters’ list transcribing and indexing;• Settlers’ histories (includes interviewing and fi lling out a form);Class photo project: gathering copies, scanning then labelling the students in all school class photos for all years from the area, including the outlying islands.For details about the CRGS, visit www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bccrgc or phone 250-286-8042.

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Campbell River Genealogy Society president Carolyn Henshall (left) and board member Dave Stewart

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