The Wisdom of my Granddaughter

My Granddaughter, Abby, is visiting from Toronto. After spending 2 weeks in quarantine, we went out for an icecream.

Here is what she told me.

While in quarantine, neighbours would stop and talk to her from the sidewalk while she stayed on the front porch. While we were out for ice cream, we sat down at a picnic table where a big burly man was having his lunch. He picked up a conversation starting off with the weather and moving into the Covid crisis in the USA.

Afterwards Abby shared these thoughts. “Do strangers always talk with each other here, it rarely happens in Toronto.” I asked her whether she thought this was good and she replied “I like it that people talk with me – it feels good.”

There is lots of speculation as to how the world will be when we come out of Covid 19 Pandemic. No one really knows how it will be, but the general consensus is it won’t be the same.

We have been learning lots of lessons because of the pandemic, the chief one being how vulnerable we are when we lose the social support of our community. We are relearning that community is central to our very existence and our sense of humanity and there is no community without people reaching out to each other.

What most of us want is pretty simple.

Most of us would say that when we don’t have to worry about basic needs, we have strong relationships, we belong and are accepted into our community, we know others care about us and we feel safe; life is pretty good – we can be happy and content with our lives.

We have the opportunity to reset our societal priorities.

Here is what we are doing about it.

Covid 19 has given us some great opportunities.

A Team

We have been able to build a great team around us. No one is getting paid, but each of us strongly believe in the importance of emerging from Covid with a stronger sense of community. Each of us brings a special gift we are willing to share with the world. Julie brings a great sense of strategy on how to reach more communities around the world. Dawn shapes our communications, Joe helps us with our graphic design, Tim R. is producing videos, Tom F. brings us technology wisdom, Tami is leading initiative in creating software, Alison is giving us a more professional web presence, Bruce is helping us interface with universities to attract student helpers. Wendy is advising us on municipal relations and Will is always providing wise council.

New Website:

We have a brand new website with a lot of new resources on it. Check it out. https://happycommunityproject.com/  Dalhousie students are working to make even better improvements to it.

Village Helper

A team of Dalhousie students led by Professor Tami Meredith are developing a unique platform for enabling neighbours to make stronger social connections and rely on each other for support. We call the platform Village Helper.

A new way of doing things.

Covid 19 has given us the space and opportunity to develop a new way of supporting individuals in launching new projects that make their community stronger. We call this the Connecting Communities workshop. It’s 3 hours of on line learning that has gotten amazing results in just a short time. To learn more – go to????

Ellershouse is crating a community park

Jennifer Whynot took the Connecting Communities workshop and has rallied her community together to build a brand new community park. In just 2 weeks, she was able to bring a team together, get the land donated, rally the rest of the community around the idea, sold nearly 100 T shirts in a community of 400 and has donations for services, supplies and roll up your sleeves effort.

Kabale Uganda is creating sustainable farming

Herbett also took the Connecting Communities workshop. He has been able to focus his passion and simplify his message to get practical things done. His vision for his village of 3000 people is that the citizens will be able to develop sustainable incomes while preserving the land for next generations. In 4 weeks, he has been able to get the support of farmers and supporters that is giving him hope that his dream will be realized.

Kolkata India

The team in Kolkata India has been developing and implementing better ways that people can become more socially connected while maintaining physical distancing. It is inspiring to experience their energy.

New opportunities.

We have received inquiries from other communities and are gearing up to make them Happy Communities. One community wants to turn the corner from becoming more divisive to more united. Another community sees the principles of the Happy Community be the foundation for their economic prosperity.

What you can do

Whether you are an individual, a leader of a community or part of another organization and want to make a difference for your community, we would love to have a conversation. Just reach out to us at Barry@happycommunityproject.com

We have developed a lot of expertise over the past 8 years, and we are here to help you. Reach out to us and tell us what is on your mind.