Monday, 3 September 2007
Cool Runnings, v2
The Reggae Marathon in Jamaica is still a go and I can't wait! The training's coming along and I've surrounded myself with some pretty strong runners who have been pushing me well. Ran the Midsummer Night's Run a couple weeks back and had a lot of fun with it at sunset on the waterfront (highly recommended to all you runners in TO next Aug!) … placed 35 th (of about 300), but more importantly I beat the goal I was shooting for and set a personal best of 15Km in 1hr, 12min. Next up for me is a much tougher test on 30September with the Scotiabank TO Waterfront Half-Marathon … that'll be an important benchmark to get a sense of what kind of time I'll be able to shoot for at the full 42. I'm definitely thinking about trying to post a decent time as opposed to simply surviving the 01Dec race … while I'm enjoying the workouts, the real hard part in making that a reality is to come around better on the nutrition – my food intake is actually pretty decent, but for me that might mean laying off the booze for a while … darn summer patio season being such a temptress … we'll see how that one goes! Thnx for all the support everyone – I'll keep the updates coming at every benchmark I can =)
YOUTHLINK & Toronto's Local Health Committee
New Committee/Job info ...
Hey good people – So for all of you who've been on me bout apparently having 3 jobs and school, below is a bit of an update on the newer part time ones ... while I might be balancing a few different things - none of them ('cept school!) demand ridiculous amounts of time so I promise I'll still be able to have a life and come out and play these next few months!! For all ya'll heading back to school - let's enjoy our final few days of summer freedom;-)
Ok here goes ...
1. As of September, for the next 3-4 years (through the next municipal elections) I will serve on the Local Health Committee (LHC) for downtown Toronto & East York. The essence of this committee is to debate and provide advice to the Toronto Board of Health on policies, priorities and programs to address local and emerging health needs in the City of Toronto. Issues vary greatly and may range from water quality, food and beverage concerns, access to dental/healthcare services, programs for vulnerable seniors and immigrants, communicable diseases, and on the strategic plan for Toronto Public Health. SO – for any of you TO folks out there – if you've got any ideas or concerns about public health or safety issues that isn't on the city's agenda that you feel should be – please feel free to bring it to me and we'll talk about how to get it moving!
2. The other part time gig I've recently begun is with YOUTHLINK – a Toronto based NGO serving inner city youth. While most of my portfolio will be in the areas of information reporting and conducting program evaluations – I will be in a position to make recommendations to leadership on potential new research or programming initiatives. I know several of you are actively engaged with or have an interest in poverty/violence/substance abuse/homelessness/reproductive health and other issues affecting disadvantaged youth. SO – as above with the LHC stuff - if you have relevant insights, ideas or new angles that you feel deserve more attention, I'd love to hear about it!
Hey good people – So for all of you who've been on me bout apparently having 3 jobs and school, below is a bit of an update on the newer part time ones ... while I might be balancing a few different things - none of them ('cept school!) demand ridiculous amounts of time so I promise I'll still be able to have a life and come out and play these next few months!! For all ya'll heading back to school - let's enjoy our final few days of summer freedom;-)
Ok here goes ...
1. As of September, for the next 3-4 years (through the next municipal elections) I will serve on the Local Health Committee (LHC) for downtown Toronto & East York. The essence of this committee is to debate and provide advice to the Toronto Board of Health on policies, priorities and programs to address local and emerging health needs in the City of Toronto. Issues vary greatly and may range from water quality, food and beverage concerns, access to dental/healthcare services, programs for vulnerable seniors and immigrants, communicable diseases, and on the strategic plan for Toronto Public Health. SO – for any of you TO folks out there – if you've got any ideas or concerns about public health or safety issues that isn't on the city's agenda that you feel should be – please feel free to bring it to me and we'll talk about how to get it moving!
2. The other part time gig I've recently begun is with YOUTHLINK – a Toronto based NGO serving inner city youth. While most of my portfolio will be in the areas of information reporting and conducting program evaluations – I will be in a position to make recommendations to leadership on potential new research or programming initiatives. I know several of you are actively engaged with or have an interest in poverty/violence/substance
Saturday, 4 August 2007
A politician, a saint, and a sight to see
I was out canvassing the other day in West Hamilton with Ontario MPP Ted McMeekin. While the door-to-door was productive, it was one of our off topic conversations that stuck with me more than anything else. He was telling a great story about Mother Theresa during one of her visits to Canada some time ago. One of her engagements was with a small group of wealthier individuals who in addition to sponsoring her talk, donated about $20,000 towards her organization in Calcutta (India). When the organizers presented her the cheque, she swiftly proceeded to tear it up right in front of the whole room, declaring something along the lines of:
“Jesus doesn’t want your money, he wants your hearts” …
Being both caught off guard by the act, but comparably impressed with her convictions, active discussions were bound to ensue. By the end of the night she had managed to convince the group that they should visit her in Calcutta and witness first hand the shier scale of the poverty that they were facing. For a group of people who for the most part had never previously observed ‘third world’ conditions, they were intensely moved by the monumental challenges that lied ahead for anyone working to improve the situation, including someone as inspiring as her. Needless to say, they returned to Canada motivated to act – and in the end, proceeded to raise far greater than $20,000 every year for her organization’s efforts. So in the end she got both their hearts and their money!
This story highlights an important point - just how hard it is to truly understand a situation without ever being there. While I had studied about international health issues for many years - it wasn't until my first trip to Bangkok in 2003 that I personally fell witness to abject poverty and lack of opportunity on a large scale. It was like a moment of clarity where so many of the dots I had read about all finally connected in my head - and like the visitors to Calcutta, I became instantly motivated to act and to learn so much more about the plight of people everywhere. Now I know there are a good bunch of you who can share a similar tale or two, and that there are just as many who have not yet had much opportunity to travel outside Europe/North America and cannot. For those in the latter group - let's plot some ways as to how we can start giving your passport a good workout soon!
“Jesus doesn’t want your money, he wants your hearts” …
Being both caught off guard by the act, but comparably impressed with her convictions, active discussions were bound to ensue. By the end of the night she had managed to convince the group that they should visit her in Calcutta and witness first hand the shier scale of the poverty that they were facing. For a group of people who for the most part had never previously observed ‘third world’ conditions, they were intensely moved by the monumental challenges that lied ahead for anyone working to improve the situation, including someone as inspiring as her. Needless to say, they returned to Canada motivated to act – and in the end, proceeded to raise far greater than $20,000 every year for her organization’s efforts. So in the end she got both their hearts and their money!
This story highlights an important point - just how hard it is to truly understand a situation without ever being there. While I had studied about international health issues for many years - it wasn't until my first trip to Bangkok in 2003 that I personally fell witness to abject poverty and lack of opportunity on a large scale. It was like a moment of clarity where so many of the dots I had read about all finally connected in my head - and like the visitors to Calcutta, I became instantly motivated to act and to learn so much more about the plight of people everywhere. Now I know there are a good bunch of you who can share a similar tale or two, and that there are just as many who have not yet had much opportunity to travel outside Europe/North America and cannot. For those in the latter group - let's plot some ways as to how we can start giving your passport a good workout soon!
Sunday, 15 July 2007
Cool Runnings, v1
They say that if you can run a marathon, that you can accomplish anything. For most who have been through this process, the 42.2Km on raceday is the culmination of months of training, hard work, discipline, mental toughness, and healthy living. If it is your first time, the program is nothing short of a transformational process whose positive lifestyle benefits should not be underestimated.
So why am I doing this?
Well, at first it started out as simply the opportunity to join some cool people on a trip to Jamaica and to help out a wonderful organization in leading some well-deserved underprivelged youth through their race. I never once thought I'd actually enjoy running myself. But then I started doing it, and now I can't stop! Hardly a burden, workouts have become an essential part of my day no less important than showering (yes, they both occur frequently:-) I haven't been in this good shape since highschool, my energy levels are way up, I'm getting great sleeps, and my performance in most other aspects of life has shot up too. In wanting to assist some inner city youth at the end of their journey, I've suddenly found my own life to be serendipitously transformed as well ... and it's not as if I was all that sluggish/unproductive to begin with!
So who are these youth?
Through absolutely no fault of their own, much of the youth in the North Central part of Regina (Saskatchewan) have been born into some of the lowest socioeconomic conditions there is. Yet there is always hope. Victims of a seemingly failed society, most of them remain kind-hearted individuals simply working hard to do something for themselves. What they need above all else is opportunity, and a little bit of support and positive role models in their quest to become responsible citizens. In recent years, much of this has come from the North Central Family Centre (NCFC) - a truly remarkable initiative providing services with the following mission: To provide programs and support to help young men and women become productive members of society as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. Frequently aknowledged as a model for an inner city community organization - NCFC has one several awards and has received endless praise from business leaders, private citizens, law enforcement and politicians from all stripes including Stephane Dion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and many other prominant figures.
So how does a grad student from Toronto fit into this picture?
As you might have guessed, as part of their programming, NCFC has been guiding teenagers and young adults through the marathon training process and are arranging a number of races for them to participate in. Last year's race in Las Vegas was wildly successful and a documentary on their efforts will soon air on one of the major networks. For this year the goal we are all working towards is the December 01st International Reggae Marathon in Negril, Jamaica. While I am training on my own time in Toronto, I am delighted to be connected to this organization and will be joining their staff/volunteers on site in Negril during race week. You can expect to hear much more about this in the months to come as I will be posting regular updates chronicaling the rest of my own training, how the kids are doing in Regina, as many other aspects of why this initiative is just so damn cool!
"They do a tremendous job of reaching out to kids, giving them a positive thing
to do in terms of arts and crafts, music or sports."
- Warren McDall, MLA Regina Elphinstone Centre
"It's a place where youth can find positive activities, learn important skills
and be safe."
- Cal Johnston, Chief of Police, Regina
So why am I doing this?
Well, at first it started out as simply the opportunity to join some cool people on a trip to Jamaica and to help out a wonderful organization in leading some well-deserved underprivelged youth through their race. I never once thought I'd actually enjoy running myself. But then I started doing it, and now I can't stop! Hardly a burden, workouts have become an essential part of my day no less important than showering (yes, they both occur frequently:-) I haven't been in this good shape since highschool, my energy levels are way up, I'm getting great sleeps, and my performance in most other aspects of life has shot up too. In wanting to assist some inner city youth at the end of their journey, I've suddenly found my own life to be serendipitously transformed as well ... and it's not as if I was all that sluggish/unproductive to begin with!
So who are these youth?
Through absolutely no fault of their own, much of the youth in the North Central part of Regina (Saskatchewan) have been born into some of the lowest socioeconomic conditions there is. Yet there is always hope. Victims of a seemingly failed society, most of them remain kind-hearted individuals simply working hard to do something for themselves. What they need above all else is opportunity, and a little bit of support and positive role models in their quest to become responsible citizens. In recent years, much of this has come from the North Central Family Centre (NCFC) - a truly remarkable initiative providing services with the following mission: To provide programs and support to help young men and women become productive members of society as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. Frequently aknowledged as a model for an inner city community organization - NCFC has one several awards and has received endless praise from business leaders, private citizens, law enforcement and politicians from all stripes including Stephane Dion, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and many other prominant figures.
So how does a grad student from Toronto fit into this picture?
As you might have guessed, as part of their programming, NCFC has been guiding teenagers and young adults through the marathon training process and are arranging a number of races for them to participate in. Last year's race in Las Vegas was wildly successful and a documentary on their efforts will soon air on one of the major networks. For this year the goal we are all working towards is the December 01st International Reggae Marathon in Negril, Jamaica. While I am training on my own time in Toronto, I am delighted to be connected to this organization and will be joining their staff/volunteers on site in Negril during race week. You can expect to hear much more about this in the months to come as I will be posting regular updates chronicaling the rest of my own training, how the kids are doing in Regina, as many other aspects of why this initiative is just so damn cool!
"They do a tremendous job of reaching out to kids, giving them a positive thing
to do in terms of arts and crafts, music or sports."
- Warren McDall, MLA Regina Elphinstone Centre
"It's a place where youth can find positive activities, learn important skills
and be safe."
- Cal Johnston, Chief of Police, Regina
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