Hello World Travelers,
Delighted to remind everyone that our final 2023 meeting is coming up on Saturday, Dec. 2, at noon EST in Toronto. TCC Canada member Dr. Phil Tanner will be joining us as our esteemed guest speaker.
The theme of Phil’s presentation will be “Global Travel Through the Eyes of a Humanitarian Aid Worker.”
Phil will share his experiences growing up overseas, where his dad worked as a UN Director and where he went to international schools.
After joining the UN and the INGO sector, he served in some of the conflict zones and disaster-affected areas around the world, including Rwanda and Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia, East Timor, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal to name a few.
Then, traveling repeatedly to the same countries to bring relief and development activities to impoverished communities, as well as democracy-building activities to achieve peace and reconciliation in areas suffering tribal and gang violence.
Phil didn’t think of counting countries until he heard about the TCC, and by then he had already lived in 20 countries and worked in over 60. Of course, while people often seemed jealous of his ability to travel four or five times a year to exotic places, they didn’t realize that he was seeing a side of a country that few tourists or seasoned travelers got a chance to see. These countries were often at their most vulnerable and highly dependent on outside help.
Phil had a chance to work alongside the host governments, community stakeholders and the local agencies struggling to help their own communities.
The valued TCC principle of international travel being our “Passport to Peace Through Understanding” is a very important one for Phil and was one of the reasons he wanted to join. It resonated profoundly with his belief that “if we step outside of our comfort zone and see how others live, often in very difficult circumstances, we will come to appreciate and respect one another far more.”
Working with children and adults in developing countries has afforded Phil a rare privilege to contribute to those in extreme need and to make a difference, however small, in their lives. Phil said, “If I could only help one person in the country, then it is worthwhile — and that is what I set out to do on every new mission.”
We are super fortunate to have Dr. Phil as part of our TCC meeting and have him share his unique travel experiences.
Please email me your RSVP for your attendance at the meeting or your desire to be part of the Zoom call connection.
Again, the meeting will take place at the Hive office at 950 Dupont Street Suite 300 (Between Davenport and Dovercourt). Street parking is available See Google Maps link here »
See you soon!
Rick Shaver
TCC Canada Chapter Coordinator
