Paul and Beverley Carrick want to set the record straight: though CAUSE Canada has moved on, they’re not going anywhere – and they’ve got more work to do.
The couple have narrowed the scope of their philanthropy, embarking on a new venture: Embrace International Foundation (EIF).
“We are fully retired from CAUSE Canada (Christian Aid for Underfunded Societies Everywhere). Although we are the founders, there is a new leadership team, and it’s a very competent leadership team, but in order for them to chart their own course and find their new way, it was probably very helpful for there to be a full separation. So they have moved to Calgary, but Beverley and I have not moved to Calgary,” said Paul.
“Our commitment to Canmore is very, very strong. And giving people the opportunity to have meaningful adventures and travel the south is very big. So we’re here. We’re not going anywhere.”
The focus of EIF is “exclusively on special needs children, living in extreme poverty, being raised by single mothers. And although that sounds narrow, there are hundreds of millions of people that fit that criteria, and they’re not getting help in the south. So championing their rights and their children is a very cool thing to do,” he said.
“It’s really, really a tough life for them. Often they have a child, and when the husband finds out, or the partner finds out that this child is disabled, they often can’t cope with that and often the husband leaves, or beats the wife up and then leaves, so it’s really a very desperate situation for some of these women,” said Beverley.
“We have identified in Guatemala, and also in Uganda, a couple of missions, organizations or southern charities who are doing an excellent job and we want to support them.”
EIF is taking a group of Canmorites to Guatemala at the end of November to work with CIPECADI, an organization that provides physiotherapy, speech, play and occupational therapy for children with physical or developmental disabilities.
“We wanted to be a bridge from our hometown in Canmore, to these opportunities to serve people overseas,” said Beverley.
The group will be presenting CIPECADI with funds raised by the Rotary Club of Canmore, which will be put toward the charity’s equine therapy program. A pony and some sheep will be purchased, and a new barn raised to house the animals.
The Carricks will also celebrate the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3 by organizing and participating in the second annual Run and Walk for Inclusion in Antigua, Guatemala.
“We just gave them some logistical support because we’ve been managing (the Canmore Rocky Mountain Half Marathon) for 20 years, actually 22 years, so we know a little about organizing races.”
In January, Paul is taking a group of six motorcyclists from Dawson City, Yukon, on a bike tour of Uganda.
“(The riders) raise funds to buy the motorcycles, we then buy the motorcycles in-country, they do the tour, and at the end of the tour they literally hand over the motorcycles to the benefitting charity,” said Beverley.
In this case, the benefitting charity is the Kyaninga Child Development Centre in Fort Portal, Uganda.
Because access to services for children with disabilities is limited, especially in rural areas, specialists working with the Kyaninga Child Development Centre rely on motorcycles to reach smaller communities.
“The capacity for motorcycles in the global south is enormous. They’re cheap, they’re economical,” said Paul.
It’s important to the Carricks too that they are utilizing as many people and supports within the community as possible – and motorcycles allow for this.
“We want to support them to support their own people,” said Beverley.
Paul is organizing a second ride for February for interested motorcyclists in the Bow Valley.
Participants of each trip are responsible for covering the cost of airfare, the cost of the motorcycle or a $500 donation to CIPECADI, depending on the trip, while EIF covers accommodations and meals.
EIF will also sell Christmas trees at Canadian Tire this winter to benefit both CIPECADI and the Kyaninga Child Development Centre.
“After more than 40 years of being involved in international relief and development, it’s part of our DNA to want to keep active and to keep helping meet the needs of people in desperate situations. Because we’ve met many of these people face to face for all these years,” said Beverley.
“Yes, we’ve retired from CAUSE Canada, but we don’t believe you should retire from doing good work.”
For more information on EIF, contact Paul Carrick at [email protected].
