How it all began...
Eden MacDonald is the founder of AIM International Aid Society (AIMIAS). She grew up in Richmond and graduated from Richmond Christian Secondary School in 2001. Now a Registered Nutritionist and yoga instructor one of her goals in life is to create opportunities for Canadians to give back to the global community. AIMAIS embodies Eden’s passion for humanitarian work and projects that improve people’s lives. She has combined her interest in wellness and yoga with this and other pursuits.
Eden started AIMIAS in January 2005 after the tsunami hit the shores of Sri Lanka. She had been in Sri Lanka in for a couple months before the tsunami hit in 2004 and experienced the genuine kindness and openness of its people. Her life-changing journey is the inspiration for the work that AIMIAS has undertaken over the past four years. Recent projects include the reconstruction and daily operation of two nutrition centres on the east coast of Sri Lanka. The east coast is one of the areas most severely affected by the tsunami and suffering in the wake of renewed conflict between the LTTE and government forces.
These nutrition centres are almost completely sustained by the villages that they are located in. The families that use the centres take pride in the building and its programs and work hard to contribute to the functioning of it. During the last year the centre in the village of Unnichchai was bombed and then stampeded by wild elephants; all the children were safe but the centre was left in shambles. The village has worked hard at rebuilding the centre and has plans to hold an opening ceremony of the new building for Tamil New Year in April. Even though these people live in small huts and are among the poorest in Sri Lanka they have accomplished a lot with what they have.
The Society’s most ambitious project to date is the construction of a Children’s Village in the southern part of the country near Galle. Work has already begun on a nutrition centre for the children in the area. The Children’s village will not only impact the lives of the children on the south coast but will function as a place for children affected by the war on the east and north coasts to attend ‘summer’ friendship camps. This will be an important step in creating awareness and understanding between the youngest generations of Sinhalese and Tamil children in Sri Lanka.
AIMIAS will also be launching a Voluntourism program in February 2010. Voluntourism will provide people with an opportunity to connect, and share their skills with the children and families at the Children’s Village combined with a relaxing and enriching vacation in Sri Lanka. Sticking with their grassroots approach AIMIAS will ensure that the voluntourism program does not detract from the culture of the local village community. Voluntourism will foster an understanding and connection between the people supporting the village and those benefitting from it.
