The homestretch is approaching for voting for Canada's "champions of change" on CBC's national website, and two of the finalists have connections to the Prince George region.
The cross-country initiative got 1,353 initial nominations of worthy volunteers. That was whittled down to a Top 50 list, which included Prince George's Patrick Pocha and Chris Opio plus other northerners Gladys Radek and Paul Gevatkoff.
"All these people are doing amazing work all over Canada, all over the world, so I am amazed to be in that group of the Top 50," said Pocha, who is active with the Prince George Metis Association and the driving force behind the Prince George After-Hours Drop-In Centre.
When the Top 10 list was announced, Radek and Opio were still on the shortlist. Here are their biography highlights, according to the Champions of Change website:
- Christopher Opio, co-founder (with Tony Donovan) of Northern Uganda Development Foundation.
"Growing up as a child in Uganda, Christopher watched in agony as one of his brothers died from parasitic infections, which they acquired from dirty drinking water shared with animals," according to his biography. "Emigrating to Canada in 1982, he would never forget the suffering his family endured, and after completing his education, vowed to return to try and help improve the lives of the people of Northern Uganda."
The Citizen has reported on Opio's energetic efforts to install wells and ensure clean, reliable water for his former home region.
So far, their work has led to the opening of 29 wells, providing over 42,000 people not only with access to clean drinking water, but a resource for farming as well.
NUDF goes a step further, sponsoring the raising of goats, bee hive cultivation, and tree-planting to spur local commerce.
To learn more about the Northern Uganda Development Foundation, visit their website at http://www.nudf.org
- Gladys Radek is in the running for her work on aboriginal advocacy, especially in the realm of reducing violence against women, and pushing for answers to the questions about the victims of the Highway of Tears and Vancouver's downtown east side. She now lives in Vancouver but is originally from the northwest. She is the aunt of missing woman Tamara Chipman, and is the founder of the Walk4Justice that has marched across B.C. and to Ottawa on different occasions.
Opio and Radek are already winners. There was a prize for each member of the Top 10. Each gets $10,000 for the charity of their choice, plus they are in the running for more. The Top 2 get to direct $25,000 to their charity.
On New Year's Day, a special broadcast on CBC News Network (1:30 p.m. and again at 5:30 p.m.) will introduce all the finalists to the nation. The public's votes plays a big role in who wins, so for more information on that, log on the Champions of Change website at www.cbc.ca/change. Voting ends on January 10.
