Canadian Food for Children

La Nourriture du Canada pour les Enfants

40 King Georges Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M8X 113

Tel: 416-231-2817, 416-231-9109. Fax: 416-231-6205

Email: asimone@sprint.ca

An Open Letter to my Mom

Dedicated to:All the poor mothers of the world, and to “Eric”

Dear Mom,

Father Robert Hudson, C.S.Sp., and I went to Africa in February. We landed in Malawi, and the next morning we were taken by Brother John, a Marist brother, to Zambia. Mom, Brother John took us to the local hospital run by the Lutheran congregation.

Photograph #1 [the mother, her twin girls, and Father Robert Hudson] - One twin was healthy; the other, Misozi was starving and at the age of nine months, weighed 2.5 kilos (or 5.5 pounds).

The mother did not have enough milk to feed both children and the stronger child would dominate and push the other baby away from the breast. Misozi in the African language, means “cry baby”.

Sister Jocelyn Robert, S.C.O., is a Sister of Charity in Ottawa, working in Chipata, Zambia. She took us to their Rural Health Centre. She showed us a little girl, Lakisina Fyepa, who at 2 years and 4 months, weighed 7 kilos (15.5 pounds).

Photograph #2 - Lakisina and her mother After two days, we traveled back into Zambia. We found out that many of the poor children are deficient in both salt and iodine. With *** Salt for the Poor - Salt for Jesus *** we are hoping that people will collect salt and iodine for the poor, which they can do with Gifts of iodized salt.

Mom, when Father Hudson and I returned to Zambia, we went to a Rural Health Centre where the Sister had 100 poor mothers each of whom had from one to three malnourished children. I asked the Sister what she was giving the poor and she answered, “nothing.” When I asked why, she simply said, “We have nothing.” Father Hudson and I had some extra money so we were able to buy sixty 50-kilogram bags of corn flour to give these mothers.

Sister Raymonde Gratton, S.C.O., another Sister from Ottawa, brought us to see some of the missions in Malawi. The most striking one was at St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Namitete, where Father Hudson and I saw the most advanced starving children we have ever seen in our lives.

I sat down and started writing down their names and weights and when I got to 27 names, l asked myself, why am I doing this?

Photograph #3 is Daelisi Tsirizani, with me, her mother, and her younger sibling on her mother’s back. Daelisi is a little girl who at the age of six years, weighed 8.7 kilos (19 pounds). St. Gabriel’s Hospital is run by the Carmelite Sisters of Luxembourg and Sister Justina and Sister Jeanny are in charge. I offered to help them and they were overjoyed. I told them that we would send them a container every two months and this made them even happier.

In addition, we spent a great amount of time visiting people who have AIDS. The most striking thing that bothered me were the young people. One lady shared with us that there was no family in Africa who is not affected by AIDS. She explained that her younger brother had died of AIDS. Two nephews, aged 17 and 19, had died of AIDS and her 19-year old niece had AIDS.

When you go and visit someone with AIDS, they will always tell you when they are really sick that they hurt all over and they can’t really tell you where the pain is. We found two 19-year old girls who were very fearful but very happy that we would not abandon them and we would help them.

Mom, mostly what is done in Africa, is what is called, “Home Based Care”. When we got back to

Canada, we sent Evelyn Johnson, who is in charge of the Home Based Care program of the

Diocese of Lilongwe in Malawi, a container. We also sent an emergency container to St.

Gabriel’s Hospital for Sister Justina and Sister Jeanny and their poor people.

Dear Mom, I received a letter of complaint about my letters to you. The lady that wrote said that I never really say how they should help and that the letters wander all over.

Mom, when we started this work, I used to have fixed ideas on how I thought others should help. But I believe that only the Holy Spirit can move a person to be generous.

I know we always want to buy split peas. We can buy a bag of 45 kilos (100 pounds) for $11.75, which provides 500 nutritious meals for the poor.

We buy large cases of vegetable oil, which are 16 litres per case. This oil not only gives flavour to foods, but also allows for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins that prevent blindness, bone diseases and bleeding disorders.

We always want people to collect milk powder, iodized salt, rice, and flour.

We want all sewing items, such as yarn and wool, knitting needles, crochet hooks, sewing needles, pins, fabrics, buttons, zippers.

We want candles!! - the poor do not have any electricity.

We want warm clothes. When we were in Malawi, the highest temperature in the hottest season of the year, is 27C. It is never humid. It can go down to 2C or 3C. The poor people are very thin and once the African sun goes down, it is very cold for the poor.

We always want shoes.

We love the children and students, to pack shoe boxes. We saw Estere, 15-years old dying of AIDS. She was only about three and a half feet high. She was filled with pain, suffering and anxiety. We gave her one shoe box from Canada, filled with candy, Dencils, small toys, soap, and toothbrushes. This Act of Love completely changed Estere’s outlook as she became a happy, little contented girl, who forgot for a little while that she was dying.

When you run a charity, the hardest time of the year, is the summer when here in Canada, we go into our summer mode”. We hope people will remember that the poor don’t have a vacation, or a cottage, or a church bulletin. What they need is food and so this charity, thanks to all the supporters, has been able to continue to feed them in the summer, when we take our vacations.

Mom, I’ve never used the degrees after my name for becoming a Member of the Order of Canada (C.M.) with Joan or receiving the Doctor of Sacred Letters (D.S.L.) with Joan, but something happened this year, that I cannot reveal in this letter that suggested that I should use these letters after my name.

In March, we were given a gill of $557,000 worth of high-quality baby food. In addition to having good energy calories, it is also very high in vitamins A and C, which will prevent blindness and bleeding diseases.

I thank all of our supporters and I tell you dear Mom, that I love you for all that you did for me and I love my dear father and all my family. I hope, Dear Mom, that what we’re doing will give poor people a chance to have family life.

May Jesus bless you, Mom, and may the Mother of Jesus watch over all of us.

Yours Sincerely in Christ Jesus,

Andrew A.Simone, C.M., M.D., D.S.L., F.R.C.P.C.

Director, Canadian Food for Children