Volunteering politician has helped bring a good night’s sleep to many children

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A young Perth County woman defies people who say that something can’t be done.

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Volunteering politician has helped bring a good night’s sleep to many children Back to video

Sue Orr not only works tirelessly for residents in her community through her Deputy Mayor’s chair on Perth South council, but also supports local organizations like the Stratford & Perth Community Foundation and Stratford Perth Museum.

She is also a team leader for an organization called Sleeping Children Around The World.

Orr is the youngest of 10 children and grew up on a broiler farm in Saskatchewan, then moved to the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Orr now also sits on Perth County council as a representative from Perth South, and knows the need for affordable housing, supporting healthcare, attracting new businesses, best farming practices and responsible growth for all in the community.

She has found time to work and travel with the organization operated by volunteers who process donations and distribute bedkits to children around the world who are in need of essentials.

The distributed bedkits include basic supplies such as a wool carpet, a wool under-blanket, a mat, a light and heavy blanket, a pillow and pillow case, mosquito net (to help prevent malaria), shirts, shorts, sweaters, dresses, flip flops, rain coat, nail clippers, back pack and packing bag, school supplies including pencils, crayons, pens, notebooks, clip board, eraser and math set.

Bedkits are different in each country depending on the needs.

Her 10 trips since 2007 have included travelling with bedkits to Kenya, India (4x), Bangladesh, Togo, and The Philippines (2x).

All items, if available, are purchased from the labourers in the country they are in, to create jobs, and a quality control team ensures that no child labour is involved in making items in the kits.

Her commitment and dedication to the cause for helping sleeping children in poor countries is undeniably one that most people couldn’t imagine doing.

She pays her own way to countries she will be helping and says “the organization has one paid employee and 100% collected goes right to the children they are providing the basic necessities for.”

In the countries the organization visits, the average wage is $2/day, and the kids they are helping are 6-12 years of age. Generally, principals of the schools they go to pick the kids that will be helped. She also says they rarely visit the same area twice, which spreads their bedkits to as many places as possible. They always work with overseas partners who also volunteer their time such as Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. The cost of a bedkit is $40.