Missions and Visions

MRH friends in Orangeville

It is with this post that I'm bringing my blog Pilgrimage to Poland to an end. From time to time, I may update, which will be advertised on my Facebook page (as my friends have so patiently put up with all spring and summer)...I am unsure about whether I will host another event similar to the Evening of Education and Inspiration held last month, but if so, you will read about it here. I cannot, however, share every memory, every fact, every story and piece of interest that I have learned over the last few months with you. Sadly, I cannot write a book to express the emotions, and gather every detail. It is something - going to Germany and Poland, and meeting with a survivor - that one must do for him(her)self.

That being said, I am ending this blog - and this chapter in my personal and educational history - with an important aspect to the weekend retreat held in Orangeville, last week: the mission and vision of not only the Canadian Centre for Diversity, but each one of the MRH 2011 participants, individually.

We spent a lot of time during the retreat discussing missions and visions: what are they? What is their purpose? Are they followed? What should our individual mission / vision be? What about the collective, for our MRH group?

While I have blogged all summer and took quite a bit of time to plan the event in Fredericton in August it wasn't until we started discussing having a mission and a vision that I really started reflecting on the trip, my purpose for attending the program, and what I got out of it.

Our fearless leaders, receiving a token of our appreciation.
You are all such inspiration.

I wrote in my journal, while in Orangeville, the following:

"A vision statement: what the ideal is / a goal, what you aspire to get to.
But what do I want my post MRH project / life to accomplish in the world? I don't have my own words, so I'll have to borrow them...
'If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change' - MJ"


We were asked such a broad question - what do we want to accomplish in the world? I have no idea where to begin to answer that; even today, weeks after returning home from Ontario. In short, I want to change myself - I want to be an honest, good person. And if I can do that, maybe someone else will see it, and change, as well.

After a full weekend of planning projects, sorting out what our purpose was, reconnecting, and getting excited about the future, we finally came up with our a vision, and a mission, for the MRH 2011 group.

Vision: "The participants of the MRH, who bore witness to the lessons of the Holocaust, envision a Canadian society in which each individual takes responsibility to act against hatred and positively engage with the diversity of the people of our country."

Mission: "The mission of the MRH project is to provide engaging, inspirational, accessible and educational resources to young Canadians that will foster an understanding of the connection between the lessons of the Holocaust and the importance of responding to hatred in Canadian society."

The end of the tracks, at Birkenau.

...I couldn't have worded it any better than our group did. I couldn't have wanted to say any more. That is my hope for the future: for not only Canada, but for the world. And for each one of my followers, in your own lives, communities, and stories.

Thank you for following, supporting, and taking interest in my journey. I now have a purpose through this strength, these narratives, and my own personal story and connection with the Holocaust. A connection I did not have a few months ago.


(I am using an online program / website "Blog2Print" to turn this blog into a tangible book; something I can keep forever. Future blog posts will not be included in this.)

"Blogging through Death Camps"

I recently had an article published in the Dalhousie student newspaper, The Gazette, called "Blogging through Death Camps: a student's journey through the Holocaust".

I'm really pleased with this article, and although I can't find a copy of it online to link here, I thought I'd attach a photo of the clipping.