by Consuelo Bernardi

Created on: December 01, 2008

Not sure why I haven't heard about NOW or Des Garvey before a few weeks ago....but all that matters is that I do now.

He is now my new local hero...he's man that I've never met but who has inspired me to do more.

He is a man who saw a need a world a way, made a promise to make a difference, and delivered on that word.

Des Garvey is 80 years old, a widow, the father of 7, grandfather of 11 and a hero to a town in West Africa.

Des Garvey wants to help people escape from one of the worst places on earth and come to one of the best.

His passion is war-torn Sierra Leone, which is - according to the United Nations - the least liveable country in the world.

The story goes hat upon his retirement 18 years ago, Des decided to celebrate his retirement with a trip to Africa.
Des had heard about the poverty in Africa but he wanted to see it for himself.
His plan was to travel all across Africa but he never made it past his first stop in the town of Bo, Sierra Leone.
What he saw there made him cancel the rest of his trip and make a pledge to help the children of this impoverished town.

Des returned to Nepean, Ontario, Canada and started the process of promoting solidarity between the City of Nepean, and the city of Bo, Sierra Leone.
Des also established a charitable non-governmental organization in 1989, Nepean Outreach to the World (NOW).

The children of Bo, Sierra Leone are victims of an 11 year civil war.

Unlike here in Canada, these children have never known the feeling of being safe. Instead, they have witnessed war, experienced horrible atrocities, seen the deaths of their parents and have been left orphaned.

Through the efforts of NOW, Des wants to create a future where these children have access to family love, education, health care and an overall better quality of life.
NOW's current project is to build a Learning Resource Centre.

When completed, the Learning Resource Centre will provide the children with a facility dedicated to self-learning, books and teaching materials, computers, software and other technology aids.

To accomplish this latest project, NOW needs to raise about $40,000.
The fundraising for this project started this past weekend with an auction at a local church.

If you can help out with a donation please visit the NOW website...
http://www.nepeanoutreach.com/index.html

De s has proved that a life of service can truly change the lives of people a world away....its all about what you do...acting instead of just talking about it....and for that reason Des Garvey is my hero.

Please spread the world...

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