West Shore Serge

Const. Mike Robinson

Home province: Saskatchewan

Years of service: 8

Years with West Shore detachment: 2

West Shore RCMP Const. Mike Robinson, a former teacher, has traded in his textbooks for tools after heading to a school in Africa this summer.

Mike and his wife, Liisa Robinson, travelled to Tanzania for a month starting early July to help build a new classroom and playground at an orphanage in Arusha, a city with a population of about 1.3 million in the northern part of the country, near the Kenyan border.

B次元官网网址淲e heard about the need for help from some former colleagues who went over there to do some work at the orphanage last summer,B次元官网网址� said Mike, who taught school for nine years before deciding to join the RCMP. B次元官网网址淭hey put a lot of effort into organizing this.B次元官网网址�

Mike and Liisa, a counsellor at Camosun College, are using their vacation time and covering their expenses for the trip so all of the money they raise will go toward improvements at the orphanage.

They have been raising funds through sales of a calendar featuring photos of some of the 120 kids between the age of two and 16 who live there.

They were both touched by the generosity of the Colwood Dental Group for a donation of toothbrushes and hygiene kits.

B次元官网网址淚tems like that are very expensive there,B次元官网网址� noted Liisa, who said the couple leapt at the opportunity to travel to Africa.

B次元官网网址淲e love to travel and weB次元官网网址檙e really keen to go,B次元官网网址� Liisa said. B次元官网网址淭ravelling to Africa to help children at an orphanage was too good to pass up. ItB次元官网网址檚 a little humbling that so many people weB次元官网网址檝e talked to look at it as a great thing to do because we see it as something that will be rewarding for us on so many levels.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sure weB次元官网网址檒l come back with a different perspective on the challenges people face in other parts of the world, things we take for granted here in Canada, and thatB次元官网网址檚 important to both of us. WeB次元官网网址檒l probably learn more from the kids than we could ever hope to teach them.B次元官网网址�

While Mike said they enjoyed previous trips to Thailand and Cambodia, he anticipates that their time in Africa will be quite different than their previous experiences.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 looking forward to it as a new adventure, living out of a backpack for a month, living frugally. One of the appeals is that the money we raise here goes a lot further there. I think we can do a lot with what weB次元官网网址檝e raised so far.B次元官网网址�

Profits from the calendar sales and online donations have netted $1,600 so far, a total the Robinsons hope will grow.

B次元官网网址淓veryone at the (West Shore) detachment has been really supportive so far,B次元官网网址� Mike added.

Anyone interested in helping make a difference for the children at the orphanage can make a donation at robinsonafrica.blogspot.com.

rick.stiebel@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

B次元官网网址擱ick Stiebel is the Langford-RCMP community liaison.