Not Just Tourists Ottawa

Not Just Tourists Ottawa Fourth Annual Report - 2008

Fourth Annual Report January 1 – December 31, 2008

Highlights

Hard to believe we are now in our fifth year of operation in 2009! We’ve come a long way since Holguin: The main issue spring 2005. [after the hurricanes] is The hurricanes that ravaged Cuba, Haiti and other the lack of food, milk Caribbean islands in the summer of 2008 put our products for children, NJT efforts into stark relief as stories poured in electricity, transportation, from volunteers, travellers and internet blogs and of course medicines. about the devastation as storm after storm pounded the region. With communication severely compromised, we gradually learned of the scope of Brigit the damage to people’s homes, infrastructure and, ultimately, health. Although the clean-up moved The hospital staff in quickly and very efficiently, the lingering impacts will be felt for years to come in many communities Chivirico were very pleased and among thousands of families. when we dropped off the NJT donation as well as a As the year closed, the world had slipped into a global recession. Most airlines were no longer able physicians travel pack from to offer baggage waivers. More and more calls Health Partners came in at the last minute, meaning we could not International Canada. provide a suitcase. Despite this, requests These medications were continued and we continue to be busy with pick- ups, packing and suitcases. desperately needed. IF any one is going to the Santiago area External Relations/Volunteer Development apparently in that city Between the toll-free line and our account, traffic there is a problem with grew substantially. In February, we welcomed Brooke Walter as a new volunteer. With able mentoring from Gael, Brooke quickly took over the reins and now manages our Gmail correspondence with aplomb.

Over 2008, NJT–Ottawa attracted some “members at large”. Karen and Thomas Norgaard from Cornwall, ON contacted us in the fall about “joining” NJT –Ottawa. As business owners with a young family, they don’t have the time to gear up a separate NJT group. Being reasonably close to Ottawa though, Karen started canvassing her area pharmacists and hospitals using NJT – Ottawa materials. Several boxes and one Tim Hortons meeting later, they are officially part of NJT – O. Karen and Thomas are

1 Not Just Tourists Ottawa Fourth Annual Report - 2008 part of a faith group that travels to Cuba to help with community development. We are all thrilled to have them join our little family.

Over in Cornwall, PEI, Ed Prebinski located NJT–O via our website and got in touch. A retired police officer, Ed and his wife were planning a trip to Cuba. They found the website and used our information to help them decide what to buy and pack into their personal suitcases of medical humanitarian aid. Ed then made a friend at Air Transat who arranged a 30 kg excess baggage waiver for him. With Ed’s help, we are now planning to approach Air Transat to develop a humanitarian aid policy similar to that of WestJet and potentially get it formalized for all NJT groups.

We also have a member at large in Germany! Jana, sister of volunteer Brigit Nagy, has kindly shipped so many boxes of medicines and supplies from Germany that it was clear she should be a card-carrying member of NJT–O. Welcome to The children of Cuba will Jana! steal your heart… just ask Peter. Supplier/Donor Development and Fundraising

We welcomed a number of new donors in 2008, The doctor’s “jaw dropped thanks in part to the article in the Ottawa Citizen in and froze on a bottle of May (see below). The Perley Rideau Veterans’ Health Hydrogen peroxide and Centre contacted us in the month following publication of the article and is now a regular donor. the case of centrum vits.” When John and Anne Amyot went to pick up their first donation, Anne took a photo of John with the Ed Foundation’s managing director. Mary then wrote an article about the new “partnership” which was published in the Foundation’s donor newsletter, reaching about 8,000 in the Ottawa area. It wasn’t long before the 1-866 line rang with new donations! Thank you!

Gael arranged a 50% corporate discount with Grand and Toy. Although we haven’t used it much, it’s good to know it’s there.

Communications and Public Relations

In 2008, NJT–O was able to translate a number of key documents into Spanish with the help of Tete, a translator in Cuba who is currently translating a Pulitzer-prize winning book into Spanish, as well as a series of short stories by Margaret Atwood. We now have our physician letter available in Spanish, which came in very handy as suitcases went to some Latin American countries that are not familiar with NJT.

2 Not Just Tourists Ottawa Fourth Annual Report - 2008

In May, one of our NJTO travellers, who is an editor with the Ottawa Citizen, offered to write a travel feature about us. Bob Bostelaar’s article appeared on April 12 and generated a number of inquiries and some great donations. The article was picked up by Canwest News Services and appeared in the Vancouver Province, Edmonton Journal and Winnipeg Free Press and potentially others. We received inquiries based on the articles months after it appeared. Gael continued her tireless efforts to keep our website fresh and inviting, posting Rebecca supervises the emptying of traveller stories and photos on a regular the basement. February 16. Photo by basis along with a number of upgrades. Peter Becker. She checks Google to keep all NJT sites interlinked; puts NJT on different site links; and puts up NJT ads on free websites for donations (i.e. Facebook Cause, Kijiji). The NJT website is getting many visits from members and non-members as the following stats indicate: As of October 26, 2008, NJT–O website had received 19,000 visits in 2008: . Top views are articles, FAQs and suitcase stories. . 77% of views are from Ontario followed by Quebec (10%) with Alberta a distant third. . Visitors to the site include U.S., U.K., Uruguay, France, Japan, New Zealand, China, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Korea, Taiwan and Sweden. In all, our NJT–O site has been viewed by people from over 50 countries. . While the vast majority of views (80%) are without search engine referral, Google (6.5%) is the top referral. . An ad Gael placed on Kijiji resulted in an offer of a donation from California!

The top views of articles and suitcase stories suggest that we will do well to continue generating periodic media coverage and plugging the stories into the website. The human element is clearly very strong.

NJT–O is developing a Style Guide that will be shared with all NJT groups when it is ready. The guide will help our Ottawa group use common terms and references in written materials and presentations such as “countries in need” rather than “3rd world” or “developing countries”. Many of our destination countries do not consider themselves 3rd world or developing. We respect their self-identification.

Used Equipment

With the logistical challenges of handling larger items, our group reluctantly made the decision to no longer accept large items beyond wheelchairs. Shipping larger items like examining tables, Broda chairs, etc. became impossible when ADRA Canada decided it could not continue to fund outside contributions to its container shipment program to Cuba. NJTO is now only able to accept donations that fit in a suitcase.

2008 Statistics

NJT–O continued through 2008 with slow but steady growth. The total number of suitcases delivered was 120, up from 108 in 2007: an increase of 10 per cent. Cuba again topped the list with 96 suitcases (80 per cent of all suitcases) weighing a total of 650 kg delivered in ’08. This was up from 76 suitcases weighing 555 kg in ’07. In all, NJT O has now sent suitcases to 18 countries.

900 800 700 600 500 TOTAL SUITCASES 400 300 TOTAL WEIGHT (KG) 200 100 0 2005 2006 2007 2008

Finances

NJT – Ottawa continues to operate on a shoestring budget with the majority of costs being paid out-of-pocket by our volunteers including car, gas, phone line, postage, printing, paper, etc. At the end of December we had $426.00 on account with PCWF. However, PCWF lost its charitable status in January 2009 (after 35 years and multiple audits with no questions raised) so we can no longer offer tax receipts. The decision is being appealed but it could take a year or more to be overturned. PCWF continues to operate as a not for profit organization; our money is safe.

Looking Ahead

 Continued support of the Common Principles for Not Just Tourists developed by the Toronto group.

 Continue collaboration and communication between the various NJT groups nationally.

 Continue contacting long-term care facilities and community groups, etc. to let them know about NJT – Ottawa for donations of medicines, supplies, small equipment, suitcases, etc.

 Continue to expand our volunteer and donor base to ensure we can meet growing demand from travellers for suitcases of NJT supplies and medicines.

 Maintain the NJT – Ottawa website and expand to add a French version of the site. NJT Volunteers for 2008  John and Anne Amyot, travellers, planning, media, communications, pickups, packing donor development and supplier liaison, 1-866  Jeannine Beauregard-Hall, pick- ups, meeting host, packing  Brigit Nagy, traveller, pick-ups, buying supplies, soliciting donations,  Peter Becker, traveller, pick-ups, packing supplies, photography  Karen and Thomas Norgaard  Mike Cauchy, pick-ups, storage, (Cornwall, ON), travellers, soliciting traveller, packing donations, packing  Jacques Chenail, co-coordinator,  Rebecca Pitt, volunteer nurse, 1-866, translation, suitcases from La sorting/packing, buying supplies, Samaritaine, etc. suitcases, meeting host  Dr. Nancy Clevette, volunteer  Ed Prebinski (Cornwall, PEI), physician, donor, suitcase traveller, soliciting donations, airline coordination contact  Margaret Hammond, general  Georges and Patsy Royer, volunteer, traveller travellers, general volunteers,  Theresa Kiefer, donor meeting hosts development, traveller, meeting host  Gael Spivak, Communications/  Nigel and Angela Kilby, travellers, Public Relations, web mistress donations, media outreach  Marian Van Riel, volunteer nurse,  Jana Kreisel (Germany), donor buying supplies, suitcase coordination, sorting/packing,  Maurice Léonard, donor/supplier traveller coordination, traveller development, donor, traveller briefing, “mothership”  Mary Metcalfe, co-coordinator,  Brooke Walter, Gmail maven, meeting chair, minutes, strategic keeper of many records

Special Thanks!

. Miriam Kilby for donated graphic arts assistance for our “buckslips” . Nigel Kilby for dancing lessons . Jeannine Beauregard and Ray Hall for two wonderful backyard BBQ meetings; Georges and Patsy Royer for gracious hosting in your lovely home . Maurice Léonard for donating many medical supplies . Pixelera for continuing support for our website software and hosting . Jana Kreisel, Brigit’s sister in Germany, for sending boxes of medicines . Hospice at May Court and Cambridge Family Health Centre – so many donations

And to all our travellers – without you we couldn’t do it!