Charity begins at home…..or does it?

So far 2010 hasn’t been the best year for a lot of people in different parts of the world.  Haiti and Chile come to mind, but all over the world there has been one natural disaster after another.

Then add to that the more “usual/regular” natural disasters like the droughts in Africa, excessive rainfall/typhoons/snowfalls, that happen on a more regular basis and you have a lot of needy people in the world.

Like most countries Canada is in the forefront of helping all these people, and why not, we are a prosperous country, inhabited by people who care about other people.  So imagine my surprise when I read in the Toronto Star about the children in Marten Falls, who hadn’t seen fresh fruit in months?

What do they mean they hadn’t seen fresh fruit in months?  These children live in Canada, not some drought ridden country where nothing grows.  On further investigation I discover they live on an Indian Reserve 500 kilometers northeast of Thunder Bay and everything has to be flown into the reserve.  They only received the fruit this time as a Provincial Cabinet Minister was visiting and brought 90 kilos of fruit as a gift.  It turns out nearly everyone in the community is unemployed, and there has been problems in the past with teen suicide. 

I don’t claim to know anything about living up north.  The furthest north I have ever been is North Bay.  However shouldn’t it be more of a priority to help people who live in our own country before helping people all over the world first?  I am not saying don’t help people in other countries; what I am saying is there are a lot of needy people living in Canada.

Just a thought……..

For more of what I have been up to and have to talk about, pop by my blog at: http://thatbritishwoman.blogspot.com