Making a difference half a world away

Royalwood

West End

Jen Nicholson believes in taking action.

The West End resident recently returned from a 10-week volunteer trip to Koidu in Sierra Leone, where she was helping the community set up a vocational training program and offering guidance.

Located in the West African country’s Eastern Province, Koidu, a city of approximately 150,000, is home to the Pearl Dudek Centre orphanage and the Pearl Dudek International Academy.

Nicholson, currently on a leave of absence from her teaching job at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, is a member of the Sierra Leone Action Mission, which falls under the umbrella of Accountable Development Works, a registered Canadian charity based in Winnipeg. Most recently, SLAM members raised funds for, and supported the building of the orphanage.

“It was amazing, really,” said Nicholson, who lived at the orphanage during her time in Koidu and returned to Winnipeg a few days before Christmas. She documented her adventure online both for SLAM and in her own blog posts, and her entries showcase what was a busy and rewarding time.

“It was amazing how welcoming everybody was. One sweet thing was that people would show up and buy fruit for me. It was a small gesture, but so meaningful,” Nicholson said. “The headmaster and house mom had so much drive, and they showed lots of initiative. They were fully on board with the philosophy of SLAM.”

“With the vocational training, the idea is to try and find ways for the orphanage and school to be self-sustaining and look at trades options, and the community decided on tailoring, agriculture, and soap-making. Soap is one of their basic needs, as they hand-wash everything.”

Another key initiative of the orphanage and the school is a gardening project.

“We cleared a section of land, and placed seeds such as watermelon, cucumber, carrot, cabbage, and pepper. All the kids at the orphanage were literally clearing the land, removing the garbage, planting the seeds, and watering them daily,” she said.

She also helped with the installation of a biodigester system, which will divert and convert sewage and other organic waste from the orphanage into a biofertilizer that can be used on the school garden, Nicholson explained.

Royalwood resident Gerald Sliva, and his wife, Cecilia, are longtime members of SLAM. The couple was first introduced to the mission by Jason Dudek, one of its driving forces, when Dudek spoke at their church some two decades ago. Sliva said Nicholson’s contribution to SLAM has been above and beyond.

“Her enthusiasm, her hard work, and her initiative is amazing. And her risk-taking, too, as there are dangers out there,” Sliva said, calling Nicholson’s blog posts heartwarming and inspiring.

Sliva said SLAM is always open to new people who might want to lend a helping hand.

“We’re interested in donors, supporters, and people interested in joining the organization,” Sliva said.

Nicholson’s husband, Marty Enzlberger, joined her in Koidu for four weeks in November, and also helped out.

“I just feel really grateful. From the beginning, SLAM has had such a great reputation, and I’m a bit overwhelmed, being relatively new to the organization,” she said.

“It’s almost like a different world over there. Life still exists so simply, and it definitely makes you rethink things in your daily life. They have such resilience. They might not have electricity, for example, but they carry on.”

Visit slam.accountabledevelopment.org to learn more, and visit noondaysun.weebly.com to check out Nicholson’s blog.

For more information about SLAM, Sliva can be reached at 204-583-7467.