Recently, I have been asked many times if I would write a page on what I consider my greatest accomplishment. While I did not have to think twice about that, it has taken me some time to get back to this blog because of other events.
For many years, I belonged to Rotary International, a world wide service organization. In 1986, Rotary selected me , through a competition, to lead a team of non Rotarians to Brazil for an exchange program known as a Group Study Exchange. The program was to take place April and May 1987. A group from Brazil came to the Ottawa/Montreal area in the fall of 1986, stayed with members of Rotary and studied various activities here in central Canada.
During the winter months, my team researched Brazil and we were given five days of Berlitz Portuguese in preparation for our trip south. Brazil is the only country in South America that does not speak Spanish. There was also other training sessions.
We departed Montreal on April 23, 1987 on a Brazilian Air Carrier for the long haul to Rio and beyond. Our home base while down there was to be the City of Porto Alegre, the capital of the State of Rio Grande Do Sul.
While there, we were toured all over the state, and were exposed to all sorts of industry, farming and agriculture. It was a full month of activity....and learning..
Now, in that state, in a city called Caxias Do Sul, (casheeas dough sool), there were an abnormal number of children that were born blind. They did not know the cause of this...at that time.
At a banquet the local Rotarians held for us before our return to Canada, I asked if there was anything we as Canadians could do to help improve the life of people in that part of the world. Without much hesitation, I was told that they would greatly appreciate any equipment that I could obtain, that would help to establish a school for blind kids. At that time, Brazil was just emerging from many years of military rule. During those years, nothing could be imported by Brazilians that could not be used to make items for export. Under those rules, anything for blind kids went to the bottom of the list and was ignored.
Since the trip to that point had not cost me anything, I told the local Rotarians to start looking for a space and planning the logistics for a school. I told them that I would guarantee some Braille typewriters and other equipment. I was prepared to buy these myself, if I could not sell the project to my club members back home.
As I expected, all 61 clubs in my Rotary District fully supported this project. I soon raised the money to purchase Braille typewriters from the manufacturer near Boston, and all sorts of other equipment which we purchased from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Because of my connections with senior people in the Brazilian Airline industry, (VARIG), I arranged to have all equipment sent down at no cost, and other connections got it into Brazil without any duty.
Continued on another page;
