Oct - Old Ottawa South

Page 30 The OSCAR - OUR 31 st YEAR OCTOBER 2005
Child Haven
By James Hunter
Are you tired of Mega-Charities where you
don’t know how much of your money is
going to middle men and how much goes
to the needy? What’s with those late-night infomercials,
how much do they cost to run?
If you are looking for a place to make a donation
that will make a difference in many people’s lives,
take a look at Child Haven. This is a small Canadian
charity run out of Maxville, Ontario. Child
Haven was founded in 1985 by Fred and Bonnie
Cappuccinno who started by adopting 19 children
from 11 third world countries. Child Haven now
operates eight homes for destitute children - five in
India, one each in Nepal, Tibet and Bangladesh -
helping over 700 children. They assist children and
women, who are in need of food, education, health
care, shelter and clothing, and emotional and moral
support.
Child Haven International tries to uphold
Gandhian Ideals, including the following: No
Recognition of Caste; Equality of the Sexes; Non-
Violence; Vegetarian Meals; Respect for Cultural/
Religious Background; Simple Living. They
promote self-sufficiency through such things as
the “Soya Cow” and have literacy programs for the
children.
Better Balanced Budget
The federal budget that was
passed in the spring will
bring direct benefits to our
community. These investments only
happened because of the 19 New
Democratic Party MPs. In total,
the investments amount to $4.6
billion for long festering problems
in affordable housing, public transit,
post secondary education and
fighting global poverty. There is still
much more work to be done in these
areas but the NDP MPs, like Ed
Broadbent, are determined to make
Parliament work for the issues that
matter to people.
Happy children in Child Haven Nepal
Much of their money is raised through
Fundraising Dinners. Here is the information for
You may recall that the budget
prior to the NDP’s amendments- the
Liberal budget- planned for more
corporate tax cuts. Economists like
John Drummond from the TD Bank
asserted these corporate tax cuts
wouldn’t go into more investment
and jobs; rather, they would have
gone to excessive profits.
Clearly, investments in housing,
students, the poor and the
environment are more important.
Presently, there are more than
10,0000 people on the waiting list
for more affordable housing in
Ottawa. As a result of the NDP
amendments the money will get to
the people who need it now rather
than a promise made, and then
ignored, in some Liberal Red Book.
The same applies to rapid transit.
We know we need more rapid
transit, so we should fast track
the East-West corridor of the O-
Train, and extinguish plans for
the expansion of the Alta Vista
arterial once and for all. Our federal
government could offer people who
use rapid transit a tax rebate. What
better way to support our country’s
commitment to Kyoto? In addition,
the increase in public transit users
would support local governments
that are finding it hard to financially
support rapid transit. Action on these
issues was promised time and time
again but was always forgotten after
the election and another majority
government.
Public Service
Presently the federal Liberals
are taking yet another run at our
public services and our public
service employees. Privatization
the next Ottawa Fundraiser:
November 5, 2005
Ottawa Eveningfest 5th Gala Fundraiser
Hellenic Centre,
Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario
Info: Salim Uddin (613) 565-6840 or
Barbara Weinlander (613) 233-1808
To give through United Way, just designate
your donation to ‘Child Haven International’ and
include Registered Charity # 11885 1922 RR0001.
To find out more, visit their web site: www.
childhaven.ca or call 527-2829
Editor’s Note: I have met the Cappuccinnos
and found them to be compassionate and dedicated.
They raised an United Nations assortment of
children while opening homes for the poor and
mostly forgotten in distant countries. They are
passionate speakers who have many stories to
tell, some harrowing, many touching, and most
displaying their wonderful sense of humour.
Recently, Fred and Bonnie were nominees for the
first annual Defender of the Public Good Ottawa
Award organized by The Social Planning Council
of Ottawa. This Award honours people who make
exceptional contributions to the public good. The
winner was Barbara Carroll, who is Coordinator
of the Debra Dynes Family House, a Community
House in a low income social housing area and
Chair of the Coalition of Community Houses.
After a summer recess Parliament has returned and it is time to take stock
of the federal issues that affect our community.
is the mantra with downsizing
of public services the result. The
public service workers I talked to
at the Old Ottawa South garage sale
kept described how the government
keeps bringing in “outside experts”
to streamline government. These
buzzwords really amount to the
elimination of good quality public
services and the absurd idea that
somehow consolidating departments
and services will better service
citizens. Instead of turning to these
hired guns the Liberals should be
turning to those women and men
who work with the public every
day.
We know that there is an enormous
frustration amongst public service
employees, the results of this
constant theme of review and
upheaval is paralysis in our public
service. Public Services are
an extremely important asset to our
community and, as we have recently
seen with the CBC lockout, they
should not be taken for granted.
The fall will be busy with the
NDP putting forward the issues that
matter to Canadians, specifically a
focus on preserving public health
care and introducing a Seniors’
Charter that would protect the rights
of all seniors.
If you have ideas or concerns
about the priorities in our Parliament
please get in touch with me at 232-
1888.
Paul Dewar
NDP Candidate
Ottawa Centre