This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.
Ontario Mining Association member BESTECH has committed $5,000 to push Jacqueline Villeneuve closer towards her goal of raising $15,000 to support orphaned and abandoned children in Kenya. Ms Villeneuve, who is from Sudbury and attended Confederation Secondary School, founded Zawadi La Tumaini in 2010 to provide shelter, food and education for needy children, many who have been orphaned through HIV/AIDS.
Ms Villeneuve, who is now 19, lives in Nairobi. The Zawadi La Tumaini Centre for needy children is scheduled to have its official opening on March 1, 2013. BESTECH Co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Boudreau first supported this humanitarian effort of Ms Villeneuve after hearing her interviewed on a local radio station four years ago.
“Right away, I thought: I have to help this kid,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I was so moved by the passion that exuded from this 15-year-old girl (at the time) who was focused on helping children in a different continent. She was a fantastic speaker! Jacqueline’s words and tone demonstrated her selfless character and her commitment.”
“As an owner of a firm that operates internationally, I am often dealing with intelligent executives, engineers and other professionals in various parts of the world,” said Mr. Boudreau. “I believe it is important to embrace the opportunity to provide education to our future brilliant global business leaders who will one day operate in the same fields as BESTECH.”
A fundraising event for Zawadi La Tumaini called “A Night in Africa” is being held in Sudbury at Cambrian College on Saturday, February 23, 2013. Tickets are $100 for an evening of African food and entertainment and a presentation on progress at the orphanage by Ms Villeneuve. For further information and tickets e-mail zawadilatumaini@gmail.com.
Zawadi La Tumaini, which translates as “gift of hope,” is situated in the village of Iiani, which is located about 90 kilometres southeast of Nairobi. Funds raised will be used to provide supplies, food, furniture, medical visits, rent and an emergency fund for the facility.
BESTECH is a Canadian firm specializing in engineering, automation, software development and environmental monitoring with the goal of enhancing productivity, profitability and safety in mining operations. The company has offices in Sudbury, Timmins and Toronto. You can learn more about BESTECH at www.bestech.com.
Mining companies are responsible, solution-providing partners in society. They do more than find, extract and process minerals essential to our modern lifestyle. They volunteer and add great value to the quality of life in their communities and beyond.