"We have during this year had some trying cases, where girls have taken the law into their own hands, and when frightened, provoked or annoyed, have run away. Some have come safely through these experiences, and after a day or two of doubt, dread and anxiety, they have reached Hazel Brae unharmed. One has suffered terribly, and now lies in the hospital in a very precarious condition, and we hardly know what the end will be." -- UPS & DOWNS with Almanac for 1902 Vol VII, JANUARY 1, 1902, No. 2
David Lorente Founder 107 Erindale Avenue Renfrew ON, K7V 4G3 Phone (613) 432-2486 email: lorente@sympatico.ca
HOW IT CAME TO BE:
In the early 1990's I solicited ideas for a crest design that could be made into a pin that one would wear with pride. At the end of our 1994 Reunion in Ottawa at the former St George's Home, a lady in the audience, Lizzie Smith, came forward and presented me with a painting of this crest as a personal gift. The design was everything I had hoped for.
[The following is copyright and courtesy of The Telegraph Journal. You can read the complete transcript of this article by clicking HERE.]
Randy Vail's CD Life, released last summer, includes The Home Children, a song that touched hearts far beyond this province. Randy performed it at a reunion of British Home Children and their descendants in Fredericton last September. It caused such an outpouring of emotional response among his audience members, he sold out his first pressing. The poignant song captures the fear and apprehension most of those children felt after being separated from their families, transported thousands of miles to another land and placed in the keeping of strangers, who often had no compassion for their feelings, their loss or their well being.
Gordon Brown apologises to victims of the Child Migrants Programme.
Was it enough? No. Why weren't the doors opened to the Canadian descendants for help in researching their roots? Why wasn't money earmarked for research assistance based upon need?
Was it necessary--perhaps. We all have our own opinions.
THE British government will this week issue a formal apology to the tens of thousands of children who were sent to Australia and other Commonwealth countries with the promise of a better life but who often ended up neglected and abused.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will make the statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday before meeting a group of Australian former child migrants.
British records show that at least 150,000 children were shipped abroad, mainly to Australia and Canada, under a program that did not stop until 1967.
The children, most from poor backgrounds, were separated from their families or falsely but intentionally told they were orphans. Although their parents received assurances they were getting a new start, many of the children were abused. Some were placed in institutions or used as cheap labour.
Mr Brown's apology comes three months after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the adults concerned that Australia deeply regretted what had happened to them, speaking of ''the absolute tragedy of childhoods lost''.
IF YOU WANT BHCD KEPT ALIVE, we NEED your donations! Web costs have TRIPLED in 3 years & WE NEED HELP!
All currencies and amounts gratefully accepted with our humble thanks.
****************************************
Help us promote the cause of the British Home Children! Recommend our site to your family and friends and keep our website growing!
****************************************
Subscribe to RSS Feed
