Feature Article March 4, 2004
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Operation Read heads north
Ontario Lieutenant-Governor James Bartleman, while travelling the North with bush pilot aircraft, discovered many needs in the northern native communities - one being no libraries - no books for the young to read. Thousands of native children are struggling for hope in places rife with despair. "It is a tragedy," says Bartleman.
Rather than ask the government for help, he decided to turn to the people of Ontario. The LieutenantGovernor, who is part Chippewa, was himself born into a family so destitute that they lived in a tent beside a village dump in Ontarios north. His own father had encouraged him to read, setting him on a trail that led him to become the first native Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. It is hoped that some of the children who receive the donated books will follow in his footsteps on this trail of hope.
In early January, the Lieutenant-Governor began a campaign to obtain 200,000 books to send to 10,000 children in 32 native communities. Storage and transportation were immediate problems. He first suggested books be sent to Queen's Park, but the numbers were overwhelming, so he contacted the Ontario Provincial Police, who set up depots at all their detachments and arranged for delivery of the books to C.F.B. Borden.
The convoy of soldiers making delivery to the northern communities are reservists on a winter survival mission called Operation Wawatay--Cree for 'Northern Lights'. At Cochrane, the convoy will split up, with some of the trucks going to Pickle Lake. From there the books will be transported by cargo plane to other northern communities. The remainder of the trucks will head to the final destination of Attawapiskat, a Cree settlement of 1500 on the west side of James Bay past Moose Factory and Fort Albany.
Reading of Lieutenant-Governor Bartlemans early childhood, P/C Chadwick of the Sharbot Lake OPP was reminded of his first posting in Kenora, where he first witnessed native people living beside a dump, in homes constructed of waste products from the dump. On February 20, P/C Chadwick met with some local students and residents for a donation of over 700 books packaged in 17 cartons. This donation shows an overwhelming support for the program, and also shows that when youth in the community are given a chance, they can shine in their desire to help other people, both within their community and in the world.
The OPP accepted books until Feb. 29.
