Come support 21 years of caring and sharing on Quadra through another Quadra Philippines Connection Giant Garage Sale.
This fund-raising event will be held at Quadra Community Centre on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All items are available by donation and it is advised to come early to take advantage of the many recycled treasures and first choice selections that include everything from clothing and toys to books, household goods, tools, appliances and furniture that will cover the entire expanse of the community centre. A concession selling home-baked goodies, pizza and Aroma-roasted coffee will be available to sustain you while you shop.
Over the past two decades Quadra islanders have supported a total of seven preschool programs and over 1,100 children through a partnership with the small NGO called IAT or International Association for Transformation. Many of the original daycare children are now successful professional graduates working either in their own villages or abroad and offering support to their families.
Ðuring Quadra’s sponsorship, the dedicated teachers from these programs have been able to show the benefit of positive daycare over time and thus, over the past year, the goal to have local government assume this responsibility has finally been met.
The Quadra community is now supporting an new innovative initiative through IAT called the Gift for Peace Program. In February of this year, four Quadra Islanders had the opportunity to visit IAT’s projects in the remote Kalinga area of the northern Philippines.
As well as meeting their own sponsored students and visiting several of the daycares that Quadra has been supporting, they were also honored to be participants in a special Passing the Gift for Peace ceremony during their stay.
This is a program for which IAT has received an international award and that that will have far reaching effects. It promotes self sufficiency and economic stability for the tribal people in the Kalinga area of northern Luzon which in turn creates a spirit of cooperation and unity among tribal people that have had a past history of conflict and violence.
Until about 30 years ago, the Kalinga area of the northern Philippines was basically isolated and undeveloped. Tribal people lived in a traditional manner where inter-tribal war was the norm. As the Cordillera area, as it is known, had modern ways thrust upon it, its tribal people became more and more marginalized. It is quite common for villages to starve, go without medicines, education and sanitation.
IAT has been making great gains at creating positive change in this regard through their innovative programs, including the Gift for Peace.
Quadra Islanders will be contributing to this project by supporting the village of Katau in the northern Philippines. The community of Katau consists of 40 families that relocated from the mountains for economic benefit since the men were able to obtain work on nearby farms.
Twenty families from this village will receive 20 carabao to pass on in three years time to 20 families of another tribe that they have had past conflict with. Carabao are the animals that farmers are dependent upon for ploughing their fields.
In the meantime, as a prerequisite to animal dispersal, training seminars on leadership, savings, animal health management, agro-forestry, health and nutrition and composting will be provided through IAT. This process has already begun.
Another part of Quadra’s support includes sponsoring the education of two young girls from Katau as a way of further contributing to the upliftment of the village.
Plan to contribute to this exciting endeavor by attending this year’s Giant Garage Sale on Sunday. For further information regarding this year’s sale, IAT’s child sponsorship program or the Quadra Philippines Connection, contact Carol Foort at 250-285-3035.