Moncton's Drop Inn Ministries aims to help impoverished countries.

A24

Lise Elsliger

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We hear about these disasters around the world, such as a tsunami in India killing thousands of people and leaving behind many homeless people. The question is always, who will take care of the children? In comes Drop Inn Ministries.

Spread out in over 12 countries, its mission is to raise money to help these people by building missions.

This earthquake and the accompanying Boxing Day tsunami, which killed over 280,00, has been described as one of the most lethal natural disasters in human history. The Tsunami India Relief Project is one of the more than dozen crisis situations that the Drop Inn Ministries has taken on as a mission, which included putting together an Orphanage Building Programme for the children left behind.

Drop Inn Ministries Founder Ronnie Dawson explained that "it was a very humbling experience to receive such a warm welcome from people whose homes and livelihoods had been destroyed such a short time ago. During the visit we were able to distribute fishing nets to families in an effort to help them rebuild their lives and communities. We were also able to finance the operation of medical clinics. Doctors accompanied us and we were able to give free medical attention to people in these rural communities.

"In one particular village, where most of the homes had been destroyed, we were surprised to find out that we were the first foreign visitors and the first people to come with any practical help. The scale of the tragedy continued to unfold when we had the opportunity to travel on a fishing boat, from where we were able to observe entire communities living in plastic tents for shelter."

Other countries in which missions are currently working include Rwanda, Cambodia, Ghana, Haiti, Ukraine, Belarus, Abania, Venezuela, Poland, Prednestrovia, Brazil and India.

Canadian director James Bell explains: "Drop Inn Ministries is an organization founded in 1994 in Northern Ireland by Ronnie Dawson. Since then, we have 24 charity stores in Northern Ireland that support 14 countries worldwide. We have projects in 14 different parts of the world. In 2008 we came to Canada and the opened up a charity store in Amherst, NS. Then in February this year we opened our last one in the old Headstart building at 84 Barker Street in Moncton. So as of now we have 15 projects worldwide."

These stores contribute to raising the $2 million dollars collected yearly to support the international mission work. The shops are all designed to raise the needed money.

"People donate to the shops," said volunteer Maureen MacLean. "We sell the stuff and use the money to provide for all the charity our group does, in all its various projects. Most of the stops have only one paid staff. There's only one manager here. We're all volunteers. Some people volunteer four hours a week, some people volunteer almost 40. And it all goes for us to do outreach programs both here in Moncton and to gather money for our other projects."

The organization's present project is an invitation for those interested in missionary work to visit Burkina Faso, Africa, with a group that will be leaving Moncton in January 2010. Burkina Faso, a country with a population of about 13 million, is one of the poorest nations in the world. 44 per cent of its school-aged children are not able to enrol in primary school due to costs of school supplies and entrance fees.

"We have a school program there that accommodates 450 AIDS orphans on a daily basis. Orphans that are left from the AIDS epidemic. So they have no one to support them. So we put them through education program, and we also help feeding them as well," Bell explains.

The school complex in the village of Koudougou is in need of professional help such as nurses, dental hygienists, health care workers, teachers, and trades people. The cost of the trip is $2,400, which covers ground transport to Halifax airport, airfare, and accommodations, three meals a day, and transportation to and from their destination in Burkina Faso. Applications can only be received until Nov. 28. Full payment must be received by Dec. 1 to lock in air fare.

For additional information and to apply for the Drop Inn Mission please e-mail Drop_Inn_Trip@hotmail.com or call Maureen MacLean 506-383-8255 or visit www.dropinnministries.ca