Montrealers
awarded medals for contributions in Africa
by Barbara Moser
Two Montrealers were honored last week for their humanitarian efforts in Africa.
Wilhemina Fredericks, who is no stranger to these pages, and Dr. W.A. Ralph
Cooke received Jubilee Medals awarded by the organization that nominated them
? the Royal Commonùealth Society. The Society also awarded a medal to
Betty Maistre, a retired teacher, for her long years of service to the Commonwealth
Society. The medals were presented by Peter Meincke, co-chair of the Nati onal
Royal Commonwealth Soci ety. The ceremony was held at a dinner at Buffet Maharaja
on January 29.
Thirty-eight thousand medals have been presented to Canadians in honour of the
Queen?s Jubilee by hundreds of organizations across Canada.
Judith Elson, president of the society, explained that the medals are awarded
to those who have given service to Canada either at home or abroad. Other recipients
include Sid Stevens and Owen Rowe.
?Our branch nominated Wilhelmina when we heard of her work. She came into the
minds of all of us and the national executive made the final decision,? said
Elson.
Fredericks has made it her life?s work to collect medical supplies, food, clothing
and books and deliver them personally to South African women and children, many
of whom are suffering from HIV or AIDS. She also helps provide education and
training for the hearing-impaired in South Africa.
The company she founded, Zerf Productions, works to raise funds to provide ?tactical
help,? for those who most need it in Kenya and South Africa, explained Meincke,
as he presented Fredericks with her medal.
?I want to accept this medal on behalf of the community who have supported my
work, on behalf of the people of South Africa, and on behalf of the person who
brought me to Canada?. because without him I would not be here to receive this
medal,? Fredericks told her audience of friends and supporters. Fredericks helped
nurse a Saskatchewan professor, now deceased, back to health from a bout with
malaria when they both found themselves on a safari in the jungle. He invited
her to come to Canada to get an education five years later, but made her promise
to share her education with her people in South Africa.
?It feels wonderful. It?s great. It?s unexpected,? Fredericks said about the
experience of receiving a Jubilee Medal for her contributions. She is planning
to return to South Africa on March 31 with more supplies and medication.
Dr. Cooke, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist, was awarded the Jubilee
medal for contributions he made to the women of Uganda. After practicing in
Montreal for 36 years, he decided it was time to volunteer. ?I wanted to give
back something that I wouldn?t get paid for,? he said, as he received the medal
from Meincke.
Cooke set up dispensaries for pregnant women in a little district of 4,000 people
near Kampala under the sponsorship of a program called FIGO Save the Mothers
Project. He made two trips for three months each in 1999 and 2000. He also spent
two months teaching surgery in Yemen in 1999 and again in 2000.
In Uganda, Cooke?s mandate was to reduce the maternal mortality rate. In Africa,
he explains, the chance of a woman dying as a consequence of pregnancy is one
in 21 compared to the rate in North America of one in 6,500.
mWomen are dying because they?re treated by traditional birth attendants who
are not well trained,? he said.
They come to the hospital with severe medical conditions from obstructed labours.
?They don?t do Caesarians until it?s too late,? he explained. ?People just don?t
go to the hospitals.?
Cooke?s wife June and daughter Barbara accompanied him at different times to
contribute their expertise as nurses and educators.
?June is a former operating room nurse who set up the operating theatre in Uganda,
and tried to bring it up to 20th century standards,? said Cooke.
Barbara, a trauma nurse at the McGill Health Centre, taught midwives about HIV/AIDS
and taught school children about human sexuality.
?You can?t bring them from where they are to where we are,? said Barbara. ?You
can only move them forward a little bit.?
Post-operative infection was one of the main problems, she said. ?(The experience)
gives you a whole new perspective on life. You realize that in our society there?s
an emphasis on possessions. When you go over there and every child has a smile
on his face, dressed in a dirty shirt, holding a stick and a tin pan, you realize
that we need to get back to basics.?
Barbara added that her father?s humanitarianism did not begin with his trips
overseas. ?My father started off with nothing. As soon as he was ready to help,
he did. He took in young pregnant girls into our homes ? this was before medicare.
They looked after us in exchange for room and board and all the medical care
they needed.
?He?s a wonderful man who has never once asked for any form of recognition or
acknowledgement for anything he has done.?
