the Night Commuters

Went for a long walk the other day. The ngo I volunteer with, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief are cosponsoring a Gulu Walk month, where two men walk from their homes to City Hall every night, sleep, and then walk back in the morning (about 10k each way) in order to publicize the cause of rurual Ugandan children who make a similar treck daily to the city. They do this in order to escape abduction by the rebel army who depend on child soldiers for their war, and spend the night in a camp called Gulu. This twice daily 10k often makes children miss school, leading to perpetuation of societal problems. The Toronto Gulu Walks taking place in July are building momentum, with more and more people joining the daily trek. So, I joined in last Thursday, and plan to do a couple more before the month is out. See www.cpar.ca or www.guluwalk.com for more details. If any of you are interested in going with me, let me know and we'll make a social advocacy date of it.

Kate

Desperatly Seeking Sublet

$415 - Cheap and Big Room for Rent (Woodbine and Danforth)
Reply to: katejongbloed@gmail.com

I have a room available in a four bedroom house at Woodbine and Danforth in Toronto for the months of July and August.

Rent is $415/month but negotiable and includes utilities.

The house features two bathrooms, a spacious porch, free inhouse laundry, commonspace and a full kitchen.

It is centrally located with quick access to subway, the beach, greek town, and downtown.

Possibility to extend lease in August. Also, there is another room in the house available if you are interested.

695 Milverton Blvd at Woodbine and Danforth

Preparing for the Third World

To quote Jen, this might just be "the greatest summer ever". I am so busy with work and play, I don't really have a free moment. But to look at it another way, they are all entirely free moments. Hurrah! With every day I feel like a more capable human being. While that might not sound like a terribly exciting evolution, it is in the face of a placement year, and imminent real life. Last night I was very sick- food poisioning or something- and there was noone there to hold my head, get me water and blankets. All I could think was "I'm glad this is happening, it's good practice for being in a developing country" because I had to get through it myself.

I don't have a computer at home, and while this is a definite plus for my social life and personal growth, it is less good for things such as emailing and blog posting. Thus, please stay tuned regardless of the sporadic nature of my blog status quo, as I'm sure that during placement I will make more use of Kidding Just.

Also, please note the recent additions to my right hand side: Marit, and the On Placements: Lauren, Laura and Jess. These three are other members of our IDS team heading away (you guessed it, on placement) next year, so perhaps it will be interesting to keep track of all of us?

Kate