Aeroplan Charitable Pooling Program
For many community engagement activities undertaken by students, air travel is the most expensive item and often a significant barrier to participation. Through the use of donated Aeroplan Miles, we’re able to help cover air travel expenses for eligible uOttawa students undertaking community engagement activities in communities where air travel is required. Students can use the donated miles only for travel to locations serviced by Aeroplan partners.
Eligibility criteria:
University of Ottawa students who meet the following criteria can submit an application:
- be registered in an undergraduate or graduate program in any faculty
- be eligible to obtain any necessary visas
- demonstrate that financial assistance is required to cover transportation costs to the community in which the activities will take place
- be undertaking community engagement or international or community service learning activities that fulfill the criteria listed above
Requirements if selected:
Successful applicants must:
- attend the Michaëlle Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement international pre-departure training and post-service debriefing, if they do not have already access to such training
- submit a 200-word summary and a photo to the Centre to be posted on the Aeroplan website
- sign the release of liability, waiver of claims, assumptions of risks, authorization and indemnity agreement
- keep the initial travel itinerary.Once the airplane ticket is issued, the Centre will not request further changes to Aeroplan.
Application process
A complete application consists of :
- a fully completed application form
- proof that the student is registered at the University of Ottawa (e.g. transcript)
- a letter of recommendation or support from one of their professors or a community partner who supports the project and can attest to the applicant’s ability to undertake the community engagement or community service learning activities, need for assistance to cover air travel costs and ability to integrate into the community in which the community engagement or community service learning activities will take place
- a copy of your co-curricular record is welcome
Email your application to the Aeroplan selection committee. (Indicate “AEROPLAN CHARITABLE POOLING PROGRAM” in the subject line).
Your professor must email your letter of recommendation directly to the Centre (servingothers@uOttawa.ca). Indicate “AEROPLAN CHARITABLE POOLING PROGRAM” in the subject line.
Key dates:
Application deadline: February 28th.
Applications can be submitted throughout the year. The selection committee will meet after the deadline and again as needed. Aeroplan Miles will be distributed until there are no Aeroplan Miles left.
Projects 2015
Isabelle Boileau, Faculty of Health Sciences, embarked on a month-long volunteer project to serve elderly women at a care centre in Bogota, Colombia. Elderly populations receive very little financial assistance from the Columbian government, so many elderly women face homelessness and abandonment in the city’s streets. Isabelle’s mission was to administer essential health care to these women by providing them with food, shelter, and medication. Her tasks included feeding, cooking and cleaning, and helping with medication to create as protective and nurturing an environment as possible. Community engagement in gerontology is now a pivotal aspect of Isabelle’s life, which complements her involvement with the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and her research into women’s reproductive health alongside University of Ottawa doctor Angel Foster. In Bogota and beyond, she has raised awareness and contributed to a support network for an all-too-vulnerable segment of the population in regions like Columbia.
Katlyn Cessford and Karima Stacy Faculty of Education, volunteered alongside students from an all-girls secondary school as members of Project TEMBO’s English Summer Program in the town of Longido, in the Arusha region of North Tanzania. The organization seeks to promote women’s empowerment across the country, namely through education and micro-entrepreneurship. The will work to facilitate the transition from primary school, which is taught entirely in the native Kiswahili, to the secondary school curriculum, which is strictly English-language. Not only do such initiatives improve academic success and retention in Tanzania, they also provide basic necessities and a safe alternative for many girls who might otherwise be forced into unfavourable social circumstances, such as work or forced marriage. Katlyn and Denise possess a wide range of experiences, making them ideal candidates for their positions. In addition to her work with Habitat for Humanity and the development of a social justice project with DILA (Day of Information for a Lifetime of Action), Katlyn has also been a volunteer dance instructor for children with learning disabilities. Denise is a former Girl Guides leader with several years’ experience in tutoring children of all ages.
Miriam Czarski, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section and Civil Law alumna, completed an internship in Washington, D.C. at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States. During the internship, she assisted the commission in its defence of various human rights throughout the Americas, including the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to a fair trial , and made recommendations as to whether or not human rights complaints should be taken to the next level of study, and perhaps to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Now starting the final year of her common law program, her placement with the IACHR provided her with invaluable legal experience and knowledge in dealing with human rights violations at the international level, which will help her defend human rights more effectively in the future. Her work built on the previous human rights work she had undertaken, first assisting refugees with the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and then as a member of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa. Marian has always sought work that addresses pressing social needs, and will surely continue to devote her time and effort to such work in future.
Projects 2014
Annalise Mathers, Faculty of Science
Thanks to support from the Michaëlle Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement Aeroplan Beyond Miles Charitable Pooling Program, fourth-year biomedical science student Annalise Mathers had an incredible opportunity to travel to Tanzania as part of the Ontario Universities Program in Field Biology to study human-nature interactions. The project focused on minimizing conflict between predators and members of indigenous Maasai communities, who practice traditional land use and often feel they must kill lions and leopards to protect their livestock.
The team worked with African People and Wildlife (APW) in northwestern Tanzania to help Maasai communities build anti-predator fences. These fences are constructed from trees that grow into tall, “living walls” of dense thorns that protect “boma”, or area for cattle. The living wall that Mathers helped build was for a widow who had recently lost 15 goats to a hyena. Working beside the family was essential to the team’s involvement and allowed the members to gain incredible insight into the Maasai way of life. “I am so proud that our work with APW, which has constructed over 400 of these fences with an almost 100% success rate, is helping to develop sustainable lifestyle practices in the community while respecting the traditions that are inherent to these people.”
Elisa Dorman, Faculty of Social Sciences
With support from the Aeroplan Beyond Miles Charitable Pooling Program through the Michaëlle Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement, Elisa Dorman, a third-year international development student, volunteered as a program development intern at Shelter of United Love, a community-based organization that works with street children in Busia, Kenya. Over the past two years, this organization has worked with over 45 children and youth, who were living on the streets, to reintegrate them into homes and schools in their home communities. During her time in Kenya, Elisa provided administrative assistance, conducted outreach to street children, helped in developing a new facility for the organization, and participated in program evaluation, all of which was much appreciated by this young, effective organization. The streets are a dangerous place for a child to live; Shelter of United Love restores hope to the hopeless, and begins the process of rebuilding broken families.
Kevin Nyitrai, Faculty of Science
Fourth-year biochemistry student Kevin Nyitrai received support from the Aeroplan Beyond Miles Charitable Pooling Program, for a two-week health services project in rural Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Nyitrai organized this project himself by partnering with VIDA, a non-profit humanitarian organization created to help human beings and animals. Kevin recruited 23 volunteers to participate in the project, which saw mobile medical clinics provide basic medical, dental, and veterinary services to help improve the quality of life in needy communities. The group carried out six full days of clinic appointments in three different communities, conducting a total of 390 medical patient visits, 145 dental care visits, 76 veterinary surgeries, and 190 animal vaccinations.
Thanks to uOttawa student participation in this health services trip, VIDA was able to make gains and increase the sustainability of the project, which brought about positive change in these communities. Health is a crucial aspect of happiness and by visiting these communities to provide health services to both humans and animals, the team improved the residents’ quality of life while building relationships in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan communities.
Projects 2013
Jemy Joseph, Faculty of Medicine, had the privilege of doing an internship at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva .She was able to travel there on Aeroplan Miles “It was the best professional experience I’ve ever had!” Her work involved working on projects under the department of African Partnerships for Patient Safety (APPS). APPS helps establish partnerships between hospitals in developed countries and hospitals in Africa in order to work on patient safety and help improve fragile healthcare systems. “I did in-depth research on Canadian health institutions interested in international partnerships and had several opportunities to meet senior hospital administrators, NGOs, etc. to discuss possible collaborations,” says Joseph.
In cooperation with various child and infant nutrition centres, Gabrielle Helal, Meagan Bourret and Marie-Christine Robitalle travelled to Burkina Faso to work with the pediatric services of Bobo-Dioulasso University Hospital to promote nutrition in the community. The three students will participate in several different prevention activities, including malnutrition detection, nutrition education and health promotion.
