Dear Honorable David Xiao, MLA for Edmonton-McLung,

I am most distressed to hear about the proposed funding cuts and government take over of the Wild Rose Foundation’s international funding. This affects me very directly since I am an executive board member of the Tamaraneh Society for Community Development and Support and we have received funding for three years from the Wild Rose Foundation to match our own funds for basic education and health care in Sierra Leone. Our board is comprised of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic group who is concerned about supporting the local efforts of villagers in Sierra Leone, Romano Village, Yoni Chiefdom.

Sierra Leone is the poorest country in the world and has not recovered from the effects of 12 years of civil war. Our support of the community in Romano Village has built two schools with 1,500 children attending both primary and secondary schools. Our schools serve eight surrounding villages. The schools are supported by two village gardens and one school garden. Together with local well diggers and under the supervision of our Coordinator, Memuantu Kamara, we have dug a water well and built latrines. A badly needed health care centre is currently under construction.

Local people run, staff and control all aspects of the program development and we support it by fundraising, creating awareness and seeking support grants. There are very few grants that will support grass roots efforts in developing countries and if Wild Rose is no longer offering this service, it is a hardship to our society but most importantly to the people of the Romano Village area who have been able to build, staff and run two schools for a fraction of the price it would cost in Alberta to do the same job. Recently built schools in Edmonton have cost between 41 and 45 million dollars. With the help of Wild Rose funding we have been able to build two schools for $50,000 and staff them for three years at a cost of $25,000 per year. This is not even what it would cost to pay the salary of one teacher in Alberta.

Surely Alberta will not take away this precious opportunity for rebuilding and basic education and health that has been so difficult to win in Sierra Leone. To those whom much is given, much is expected. Albertans live in a well-off province. Very few Albertans can claim to live on less than a dollar a day as all the people of Romano Village can. Please help us return the funding and control of funding dispersals to the Wild Rose Foundation which has been very helpful to us.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marie Gervais
Secretary Tamaraneh Foundation for Community Development and Support