My mom is a teacher. Three years ago she retired from teaching in BC and moved to Zhenjiang, China to teach in an international school. Yesterday she returned back to her home there and is currently in quarantine for another 13 days. She had been away for school break and was unable to return to the country until measures were in place to ensure her safety, and the safety of those around her.
My 3 year-old daughter is in pre-school. 4 days ago, the manner in which her teachers greet her every morning changed: a wave instead of a hand shake.
Yesterday, when I was door-knocking, I met a woman who was home but unable to talk because she was self-isolating at home (as a precaution).
We are in the middle of a Coronavirus -19 pandemic, and it's affecting us all.
In my 40 years on this planet, I have noticed both locally and globally we are moving from crisis to crisis. Climate crisis. Homelessness crisis. Affordability crisis. Mental Health crisis. Health crisis. This list goes on. What makes us able to recognize, respond and recover from these crises, though? As the WHO Director-General said on March 11th, "We’re in this together, to do the right things with calm and protect the citizens of the world. It’s doable."
In every crisis, our strength and ability to manage and resolve the crisis comes through our long-standing and trusting relationships with others. We need to surround ourselves with people who have diverse skills and abilities, who can work toward a common goal. We need to identify the appropriate experts, listen to their advice, and be ambassadors of calm and confident action.
As a nurse, I have experienced outbreaks of disease and worked with teams to quickly contain, monitor for new cases and safely resolve the outbreak. In situations like we are in today, when everyone across the globe is monitoring and responding to this pandemic, please be calm. It is tempting to think that we need to do more, but what is needed to prevent coronavirus is to follow the same advice that public health officials recommend for the cold and flu season and stay up to date with new recommendations as we learn more about the virus:
Wash your hands often with soap and water
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
Avoid others who are unwell
Stay home when you are sick
Once you are informed, please be a leader and communicate with your friends and networks about the risks and how they can protect themselves – this is everybody’s responsibility.
Let’s all look out for each other, because we need each other.
Here are some trusted sites that I use to inform myself:
Running a successful electoral campaign demands strong marketing, there’s no way around it. Printing lawn signs, pamphlets to hand out, paying for a website and social media advertising are necessary expenses to help promote my candidacy. It all comes with a financial cost and the only way to sustain it is through your donations. Here’s how far a 100$ donation will get us:
100$ = 15 lawn signs
100$ = information mailed directly to 332 Victoria residents
100$ = 465 handout pamphlets
Is one of these blue pointers indicating a lawn sign on your lawn?
If not, please consider having one and showing your support for my campaign, helping me gain visibility and get elected on April 4th!
Arthur heard about me from several others. After meeting with me at the campaign HQ, he volunteered to canvass with me in his neighborhood.
Hank, Natalie and Maureen are good friends of mine and joined me for a fun afternoon of canvassing in Fairfield!
Your canvassing opportunities for this weekend: Saturday March 14th- Gonzalez
10am at Gonzalez Beach by the Facilities building Sunday March 15th- James Bay
11am at Fisherman’s Wharf by the main dock entrance
1:30pm at Ogden Point by the start of the Breakwater
4pm at Discovery Coffee, 281 Menzies St
See you there!
Fireside Chat
Yes! This could be you!
Come join the conversation! We're here every Friday afternoon from 3-5pm at the Campaign HQ: 843 Fort Street.
