This past spring, Art for AIDS’ Executive Director, Hendrikus Bervoets, traveled to Moosonee and Moose Factory Ontario for the third time in two years to host workshops with young people covering a range of topics including HIV, discrimination, and social justice. Recently, we were honoured to receive a letter of thanks from one of the teachers involved, which, with her permission, we wanted to share. While we consistently work to ensure that our workshops are engaging, fun, and educational for everyone involved, letters like this affirm that we are on the right track and are a source of motivation for our whole team:

Although some of us may never travel the world, or even leave the little bubble that is Moosonee, I thought it was very educational for the students to meet Hendrkus; a world traveler with a humanitarian spirit.

Hendrkus relayed so many powerful and thought-provoking messages during his workshop; I know that many participants were touched by various things he said. For me, his comments of acceptance were very moving and encouraged me to be less judgmental and more open to the knowledge and experiences of those around me.

I have been racking my brain for months, trying to design a workshop that would prove to be a self-esteem builder while also teaching our students resiliency. As it turns out, all I had to do was have my students attend one of Hendrkus’ workshops! The empowerment, confidence and overall joy in the room throughout the two days was as infectious as it was incredible.

Words cannot express how grateful I feel for having had the opportunity to participate in the “Art for Aids” workshop. Being able to share it with the Grade 8 students of Moosonee Public School makes it that much better. I know that the messages of acceptance, social responsibility and self-worth that were communicated throughout the workshop will go a long way in aiding our students achieve lasting success in all of their endeavors.

A big thank you to our Supervisory Officer, Mr. Tom Steele, who had a vision of this workshop happening months ago and went to great lengths to ensure that it became a reality. And to Hendrkus, who spread a wonderful message of self-empowerment to all our Intermediate students while simultaneously taking them one step closer to becoming caring, informed citizens of the world. I look forward to when our paths cross again.

Emily Samuel
Grade 8 Teacher
Moosonee Public School

We would like to thank all of the students, teachers, and administrators from both the Moosonee Public School in Moosonee, Ontario, and the Ministik Public School in Moose Factory, Ontario, for their support, and the enthusiasm they’ve shown for our work. We are all touched and looking forward to our next opportunity to work in both communities.

Read about our previous trips to Moosonee and Moose Factory.