On my last day in Chausy a group of us went out to deliver “Shoe Boxes for Seniors”. A group of dedicated folks from the Brockville area, headed up by Sharon Hanna, put many useful items into shoe boxes and we make sure they are given to needy seniors in the Chausy area. This year we took 1,400 shoe boxes! This will make a lot of happy seniors as every box we delivered was greatly appreciated by the recipient. In this picture we are on our way into an apartment building, note how short the door is:

This woman lives alone and has very few visitors. She is able to move around her apartment on crutches but would need a wheelchair to venture any further. Although her apartment is on the first floor there are still about 6 steps to get to the outside therefore she cannot leave her apartment. She was extremely happy to have the box and all of the wonderful things inside but also for the fact that we stopped in and visited her:

The next delivery was to a woman who lived with her sister. She is now completely bedridden and was overjoyed at our visit. She kept thanking us and crying and saying that it was nice that there were people out there thoughtful enough to bring something to someone who is no longer useful to society. She was a journalist and taught journalism at both the Chausy Orphanage and at School #1 in Chausy. She was holding a newspaper that had her last article published and she said that she would write an article about our visit and submit it to the paper. We told her that obviously she had taught many children over the years and that this was a great contribution to society and her legacy. She told us that some of her old students visit her from time to time and that some had gone on to become Doctors, Lawyers and Teachers.

All of the shoe box deliveries were excellent and emotional, Sharon and her group are doing wonderful things not the least of which is sending a message of love and caring!

Before leaving Chausy to begin our journey home we stopped in at the Chausy Orphanage to say goodbye and have one last lunch. While we were there we checked on the progress of the bedroom furniture. Here are a couple of pictures of a completed room:

The children are absolutely thrilled! A new bed may not seem like much to you or me, but to these children it is a daily reminder that someone cares!

Eric