Who Are We?

Cheryl Anderson

Chris Buttinger

Shelly Balbar

Gillian Brown

Sylvia Cholodnuik

Marg Epp

Laurent Gareau

Reid Graham

Sara Gauthier

Bonnie Hoffart

Patsy Ippolito

Grant McMurray

Lindsay Talon

Dick White

Monique Wismer

We are a group of people who want to help people. As much as we would like to, we are not trying to change the world, we are simply trying to bring focused assistance to a community where our small efforts make a big difference. We are not a registered charity nor are we affiliated with any NGO or religious group.

Project Leader

The Project Leader and driving force behind the Tshelanyemba Container Project is Sylvia Cholodnuik. Sylvia has been involved in small scale projects in the Tshelanyemba area for the past 15 years. Her first project involved working with the local people to set up a canteen and a bakery in the vocational training centre. Still operating today, it employs local people and provides fresh bread and much needed supplies to the remote region.

Acting like a one-woman development organization, Sylvia's passion and love for the people of Tshelanyemba have inspired many to take action and get involved. Subsequent project work resulted in the building of school desks, a playroom, installation of showers and toilets for the hospital kitchen, assistedn with school supplies for primary schools in two other villages, the replacement of hospital water tanks, and the development of a school market garden.

Sylvia has returned 9 times over the past 15 years to coordinate a wide variety of community initiated grass roots projects. She intends to return again in May of 2008. Her projects continue to focus on children and/or education in the communities of Tshelanyemba, Mazwi and Sun Yet Sen. Her past and ongoing projects include:

• Developing a hospital canteen and bakery for the Vocational Training Centre
• Creating a hospital playroom which has turned into a rehab centre
• Refurbishing classrooms in three schools (Tshelanyemba, Mazwi, and Sun Yet Sen) which included building school desks, purchasing textbooks, painting walls, purchasing teacher resource material, school supplies etc
• Building showers and toilets for the hospital kitchen
• Drilling a well at Sun Yet Sen primary school
• Replacing deteriorating hospital water tanks
• Purchasing equipment to begin a market garden for Tshelanyemba primary school
• Covered school fees, uniforms, and school supplies for 20 orphan girls

Links to information and articles about Sylvia's Work in Tshelanyemba

Link to 2004 article describing Sylvia's experiences in Zimbabwe

2007 Lewis Perinabam Award in International Development

University of Saskatchewan Alumni 2007 Humanitarian Award

1998 Profile of Sylvia, University of Saskatchewan On Campus News