Inspired by Lotta
This item currently has no comments. Add your comment.
Vancouver Island Student wins Rotary award for her Dr. Lotta project
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of USC Canada’s founder, Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990). From coast to coast, Canadians from all walks of life have started to celebrate the life and legacy of this great Canadian humanitarian.
One of the first – and youngest – to join in the celebrations was Catherine Arnold, a 16-year-old high school student at Highland Secondary, in Comox, B.C.
Catherine found Dr. Lotta’s life story and work a source of great inspiration, “I greatly admire Dr. Lotta as a fellow Unitarian, a woman, and as a pivotal force in changing so many lives for the better. Her commitment to social justice is one that I plan to emulate in my own future.”
When she heard, this past April, that a History Fair was being organized by British Columbia School District 71, Catherine knew at once what she had to do and – after spending many long hours at the public library and the Comox Valley Unitarian Fellowship gathering background material, articles, quotations, and photos – she carefully put together a striking display of Dr. Lotta’s life and work.
Catherine’s inspiration carried her even further, designing her own uniform in honour of what is perhaps the most famous uniform in Canadian history. The Rotary Club judges were clearly impressed, as they awarded her a $500 bursary for her project.
A Fitting Tribute
It is indeed fitting that a young Canadian like Catherine should lead the way in celebrating Dr. Lotta’s life like this, for Lotta had a special place in her heart for children of all ages:
“I just adore children. You will ask which age group I like best, well I find them all incredibly interesting. And they need love and they all need great affection and great understanding. And so I have them all in my heart. And, very often, I am being called the mother of 1,000 children, but I have many more.”
The Rotarian Connection
Incidentally, the Rotary connection to Lotta and USC is perhaps little known these days, but it does go back a number of years. For Rotarians responded in large numbers to Dr. Lotta’s appeals for support, just like thousands of other Canadians, and Rotary funds helped finance specific USC projects, such as an old-age home in Nicosia, Cyprus in the 1970s.
In addition, in 1983, Rotary International recognized Dr. Lotta’s dedication and life’s work by making her the 3rd recipient (after Pope John Paul II) of its Award for World Understanding.
To Catherine Arnold, and to the Rotary Club of Courtenay, USC Canada expresses our great appreciation for joining us in celebrating Lotta’s 100th in this wonderful way.
Prepared by David Rain, USC Canada’s Lotta 100th coordinator, in collaboration with Catherine Arnold. For more information on Dr. Lotta’s life and work, visit DrLotta.ca.
Leave a Comment
USC Canada
was founded by
Dr Lotta Hitschmanova in 1945. Our award-winning Seeds of Survival program promotes vibrant family farms, strong rural communities, and healthy ecosystems around the world.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
