Travellers For Change

Helping to the Limit
Zoe Brabant, 31, Nurse – Montreal, QC

Barely into her third decade, Zoe Brabant is already a veteran of six missions with Medecins du Monde in only four years, travelling to provide medical relief to regions in crisis. She was in Bam, Iran, following the devastating earthquake there in 2003, participated in the post-tsunami emergency efforts in Sri Lanka and helped health care centres in Afghanistan train local staff as part of that country’s reconstruction. She has also served as a nurse in the remote villages of Ungava Bay in Quebec’s north.

Brabant is currently serving in Zimbabwe on an MDM mission to address the needs the realities of orphans created by the AIDS pandemic—it’s estimated that 25 percent of the population has HIV.

Motivation
To do my share on this small planet. To take up new challenges and to further learn both personally and professionally. To discover new countries, new culture.My mother has also been a model for me. Being one of the first midwives in Quebec and having fought for women’s right to choose were they want to deliver, she has shown me that it is important to believe in the strength of what we can do.

Frustrations
Injustice, suffering, poverty and other humanitarian problems—they confront us to the limits of our actions. Addressing everything is impossible, particularly when the needs overwhelm our resources. In a context of scarce resources we sometimes have to forget individuals’ problems to better address wider community problems.

Rewards
If working abroad means leaving a lot behind, committing to other populations’ needs, working in difficult conditions, sometimes exposing ourselves to danger… it also means learning a lot. Understanding the planet better. Learning from others. Seeing the effect of our actions is always rewarding.

The Importance of Play
Maureen Dowds, 58, Physical Education Teacher/Sport Administrator – Winnipeg, MB

A retired phys-ed teacher, Maureen Dowds had already been closely involved with the Special Olympics since 1986, before moving over to Olympic Aid, now Right to Play, in 2001. RTP, founded by Norwegian Olympic speed skating champion Johann Olav Koss, promotes sport and play as important tools for child development in the developing world.

It wasn’t long after Dowds’ initial inquiry to RTP that she was on a plane to establish the organization’s first programs in Ivory Coast and Angola, followed by a two-year stint in Benin. She’s currently on assignment in Rwanda on a joint RTP-UNICEF project to support the implementation of a new physical education curriculum at the primary level.

Inspiration
I have always loved my work with youth and with children, especially those who need a little extra support. I worked for seven years teaching physical education to adolescents with an intellectual disability and it was the best job I ever had, they influenced me greatly. They share themselves unconditionally.

On the Rwanda Project
Most teachers in Rwanda have no physical education background, and come to teach straight out of high school. Our program helps teachers understand the value of structured play for kids. At some schools all children now participate twice a day in games and activities. Children who used to be isolated and left out now are part of the whole. Children with disabilities are being recognized and accepted within their school community. We hope this project will have a ripple effect, and filter down to other schools.

Rewards
Once, at a refugee camp in Benin, work was being finished on a nearby playground. It was one of the most exciting days ever, to see the children’s reactions to the fresh cement being poured—they had to be so patient. Before them lay teeter-totters, swings, monkey bars, geodomes for climbing, a giant sandbox , balance blocks. That’s my reward: seeing children who have been through so much, laughing and being children.

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