Heroes Among Us!

In popular culture there are two kind of heroes. Those with super natural powers like Superman and those with no supernatural powers like Batman. Superman was born that way…Batman learned and developed into the super hero class.

GMF Heroes are of the Batman variety. The thing is our band superheroes are very different from one another.

Here are some of them:

Nina, our special envoy, was called an Angel to Third World Children’ by a Thai newspaper. She has worked tirelessly in Uganda and Thailand and fund raised in Canada all year without compensation. Nina has been the point person and provided the glue for most of our projects.

Nina’s extended family, Ronnie and Marie, Tony and Trudy, Gary and Gail, Ria and Darwin have all stood behind her to provide resources and encouragement. They have all been fully engaged in helping the children.

Fouad, a special envoy has taken our message of Hope to Malaysia, Pakistan, Sweden, Eastern Europe and Thailand. He has inspired people through his presentations where ever he goes.

Carrie, a teacher in Calgary, traveled to Uganda and worked during her summer break. She went home and inspired others, fund raised and sponsored a teacher.

Bryn, one of our special advisors inspired us with ideas, raised money and put in money to build a school. Bryn provided the resources to buy the land for the Uganda school. This was a great leap of faith that we could find a way to build it. Bryn’s quiet genius has always found a way.

Sylvia, has raised money, given money, loaned money and did all of the accounting and paperwork for GMF. She has focused on getting things done and not let anything slip. Sylvia kept working through a severely broken leg and kept her focus on helping.

Leah and Jeremy and Devin and Erin have provided money, fund raising efforts and encouragement to the work in Uganda. Their moral and financial support for the Uganda part of the project has been critical to the success. They keep in touch with Nina during her long periods away from home.

Janet has become a powerful speaker, raising awareness and money through her frequent presentations. She has provided monetary support and used her talents in all sorts of ways to raise the money needed. She supports kids personally and has constantly found ways to add to the quality of what we do.

Dr. & Mrs. Jesani are friends and advisors. They have given resources to sponsor kids, help build the school and have been a constant source of encouragement as we progressed through our first year.

The children of the public school in Blackie Alberta, heard a talk about the conditions in Uganda and decided to raise money to the building of the school. Their efforts went directly into buying bricks for the school.

Barb had a dream that she could provide fresh water to a community in Africa…and so she did. Our school and the community around our school now have a source of fresh water because of Barb.

Lindsay, found out about our project, raised money and then went to Uganda. She went with the idea that she would discover the need and then work toward fixing it. Lindsay did not shy away from the adversity and she even got down and dirty to build a house. You can read about her experiences by clicking on Diary of a volunteer.

Lindsay also enlisted her family and friends. They have sent the means to make a difference on the ground. We are grateful for their clear unwavering support

Bill and Char are two friends of GMF who put their belief into action. They have provided funds for our projects and inspired us with their commitment to a better world.

Frank, is a man who has taken on the sponsorship of several schools in Thailand. In one act of kindness, Frank has outfitted 3 schools with computers and all of the things they need.

William is a master communicator. As he moves around the globe he tells the story of GMF over and over again. In Zambia, he has unearthed opportunities, in the Philippines, India, the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia and throughout Europe people have learned of our work through his words.

Vasant of Loxley in Thailand heard the message of what we are trying to do and he spawned a whole Thai initiative to help schools. The program trained teachers, supplied computers and now is getting students connected around the world through a web site of sharing experiences.

A grade 6 class in Duncan are all heroes. They imagined a better world and in a very tangible way reached out to children in Uganda with hard earned money.

The United Churches Blackie and Gladys in Alberta have heard the call and responded with support time after time. Their willingness to support AIDs Orphans a world away is a declaration of the vibrancy of their faith.

Jack and Bob came to our rescue when the government rejected our application for charitable tax status. They helped us find a legal way to get people tax slips and they have been a wellspring of ideas and support.

The children of San Silvestre in Lima Peru are heroes too. They worked tirelessly fund raising to provide computers to teach children in Uganda computer skills. Reaching out across the world to help was an awesome inspiration for us all.

Bago’s work in Uganda has inspired us all. He has quietly and tirelessly gone forward to build a better future for the AIDs orphans of his region. He has learned to drive so he could take people to get medical care. He has become our eyes and ears as to what needs to be urgently done.

Finally, the greatest of all of our heroes are those people who continue to hope, endure and continue to express love….The children who take care of other children without the means to do so…The adults who help in so many ways on the ground to provide a better future for the children.

These are the heroes that inspire us. These are the people that help make us better people. The skills and talents are varied…the goal is the same. These are the people that have turned talk into action.