For 21 years, a now-retired religion teacher from Mississauga, Ont. has been taking young people and adults to Third World countries not only to expose Canadians to the poverty afflicting people elsewhere in the world, but also to help promote a broader meaning of the term “pro-life.”
“I see a connection between children in difficult Third World circumstances and what being a pro-life person is about,” says Stella Petrone. “It’s not just being anti-abortion. It’s much bigger than that. If we believe a baby ought to have life, we ought to go a further step and ask ourselves how we can make ourselves knowledgeable about how children live in the Third World.”
Her expeditions – called the Haitian Experience when they take place to the nation of Haiti, and the Annual Third World Experience when they take place elsewhere – started in 1984 as a result of questioning by her students about whether she herself had made a trip to the Third World.
“I got a sense that some students would want to come. So the following day, I made them an offer. I said, ‘If you’re game, I’ll take you.'”
For the first decade or so, the trips took place during March Break, but this year’s expedition is scheduled for June 29 – July 6. When in Haiti, the volunteers assist religious sisters of Mother Teresa’s order in running a nutrition centre for babies, mainly by offering feeding services to infants who otherwise would die from malnutrition. Participants also visit and entertain at homes for disabled children.
In the Dominican Republic, volunteers tend to Haitians who work in the sugar cane fields. These labourers usually make just $1.20 (Cdn) for a 12 to 16-hour day that stretches into a six-day week.
“You’re looking at modern-day slavery, that’s what it is,” says Petrone. “They live on the cane fields, including the children. We spend most of the time with the children.”
Third World Experience participants this year will be offering a summer camp-style program to children on the sugar cane fields in the Dominican Republic, because the young ones can’t leave those locations. It will involve bringing in toys, balls, arts, crafts and the like, in an effort to offer some fun and a change of pace from the often-punishing work and dreary lifestyle.
Although the emphasis is on exposing Canadian young people to Third World conditions, Petrone’s expeditions usually consist of about 30 per cent adults. Participants are responsible for coming up with their own funding, which this year will require $1,100 from everyone who wishes to go. The tab includes airfare, meals and accommodations at a residential teachers’ college. Participants do not engage in the manual labour of cutting sugar canes, nor do they sleep in the fields with the local people.
“I’ve taken some as young as nine, but they came with their mothers,” laughs Petrone. “I’ve also taken some entire families of four or five people.” She adds that there is a particular need for male participants this year, as the largely male sugar cane workers feel more comfortable with confreres of the same sex.
Petrone encourages Interim readers to participate in this year’s expedition, think about adopting a child from the Third World or donate to either the cane cutters in the Dominican Republic or the religious sisters in Haiti. She can be reached for more information by e-mail at stella_petrone@sympatico.ca.
