Halton Hills Newspapers

Georgetown Herald (Georgetown, ON), September 2, 1989, p. 5

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OUTLOOK Saturday September Teens experience life in the Third World By Herald Staff has been an unusual bummer for three young Halton Hills women Shen Harms and Shen Mann both of Georgetown and Alison Mulder 19 of left behind their relatively secure lives here and embarked on a journey to the Third World to ex life not as a tourist but as community members Ms Harms and Ms Mann lived among tribe in the moun tain village of Maekoon Thailand when along with several other teenagers they helped a denominational church during the month of July and the first week of August Ms Mulder lived in Venezuela where she also par with a team of young peo ple to help build a church The three who are recent graduates of Georgetown District High School were part of Teen Mission International an American based organization founded to provide young people with the opportunity to experience missionary life Thty were in traduced to the group through tVir church here in Georgetown the Georgetown Christian Missionary Alliance Church Of the people both Ms Harms and Ms Mann said they were very friendly They were willing to do so much for us and they expected nothing in return Ms Mann said Although the villagers had no plumbing system they built one specifically for the new arrivals Out of bamboo chutes they built a series of pipes allowing the group to direct the village water supply to a makeshift kit hen shower and outhouse Ms Mann explained But the villagers generosity t stop there When the group needed supplies they were willing to make the necessary five hour hike she said Ms Harms and Ms Mann first flew to Bangkok where they then took a seven hour taxi ride to Mai and then hiked three hours into the mountains to About 50 people live in the village where they stayed hall were Christian Ms Harm said Ms Mulder echoed her friend sentiments in describing the friendliness she encountered in Cabudare saying the children she met always wanted to be hugged is a small village about seven hours outside of Caracass the Venezuelan capital A full day of laying down founda lions was how the three spent their weekdays Ms Harms and Ms Mann also helped build the frame and tin roof A Thai translator was used dur in the shows put on for the of while a Spanish was used during the show sin Although the children were places they saw they agreed mo t lead of life of poverty In six to eight people sTiared a oneroom house People were pretty thin looking and the animals were even scrawny Ms Mulder said Building a church in the Third World Is a completely different endeavor than building one here they said The foundations required digg foot holes and then installing wire frames so that cement col umns could be installed Ms Mulder explained The process ot framing which is called steel was tedious and difficult she 1 1 units cf anil Mann show sum of the souvenirs thp rtifnlh brought their trip the Third World Ms Harms and Ms Mann up the Coca shirt while in Thailand Mulder or should Muldir brought hack pom ho from in In Tin tlirrt Hills part of a rip l Tun Mis sioii International Herald photo unable to communicate their feel ings about the entertainment the three agreed that the children s smiles and hugs showed they en joyed what they saw Ms Mulder saui the to communicate made it difficult to really get to know the people It was easier to relate to the young children because they were the least inhibited she said Ms Mann and Ms Harms used food to break through the com mumcation barrier One night they made some popcorn but initially the children were reluctant to try it but when they eventually did they couldn t stop We ended up popcoarn the rest of the night they said About the people they met and said They had to do without the specific steel tying relying on plyers and their hands she said This was also true for mixing the cement Cement mixers were esistent Ms Mulder said As part of their trips the three visited nearby churches and put on puppet shows for children during the weekends The shows centred around different I stones or a moral message thevsaid For the three the trip was a of learning about another culture and teaching that culture about their own they said The trip also allowed them to see if missionary work is something they like to pursue later in life But when asked if made am decisions were committal They did however say they would do the trip again Mainly Canadians and Americans made up the groups in Maekoon and Teens who get involved in the teen nary organization can choose between different Third World countries Mulder said Although the three worked on a church they y the type of work varies The organizations accept all denominations Ms Mulder said All participants attend a primitive jungle camp at Mer Florida for two weeks to prepare for the awaiting culture shock The camp whicl is put on by leen Missionary International simulates the Third World ex perience Ms Mulder said Jn the two countries here was no running water Only canned food was available Showers were non existent They bathed in wooden buckets that they filled with their hands When they werent enjoying the finer things in life they took carpentry and brick laying and steel tying classes Evenings were spent learning how to witness Christians and sing a longs Upon their return they attended a debriefing camp to prepare for their return to western life We were told to expect to feel tion hen we saw how we live when others are sick or looking for their next meal Ms Mann said Halton will pay 840000 to redesign Milton Centennial Manor Halton Region will pay an Oakville firm to redesign Halton Centennial Manor a Region run home for seniors located in Milton The Ontario Ministry of Health recently allocated a million for the first phase of the manor redesign The first phase calls for the reduction of beds to 200 beds at the Ontario Street South manor Mekinda Snyder and Architects from Oakville won a contract with the Region to redesign the building will use one of three plans to redesign Halton Centennial Manor One option is to build in stitutional bed facility on the Milton site and demolish the Pettit House on site This plan would in volve and renovate the Martin House to accommodate beds A second option would be to re tain the Martin House for com services administration seniors day care child care and to build 200 extended care residences around the Martin House The third option facing the Region is to build a completely new facility for residents The three solutions to redesign ing Halton Manor will be reviewed the Region Just Open Limited Edition Prints Carl The Companions Limited Ed lion Decorator Prints and Poster alto available Restoration of Antique Prints Quality Custom Framing is our Specialty I Art effects GaBeiv and Framing Centre 348GuelphSt Unit 5 Next to BELL GLASS in the Knolcrest Centre Georgetown SB 8777491

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