Eesti Elu / Estonian Life no. 41 | Oct 11, 2019

Nr. 41

EESTI ELU reedel, 11. oktoobril 2019 — Friday, October 11, 2019

(prostate gland) and kops (lung); and among females ­rinna/vähk (breast cancer) and naha mitte/melanoom (non-­ melanoma skin cancers).

Bold steps to fight clawing cancer Ever since Terry Fox’s “Marathon of Hope” in 1980, when the 22-year-old Cana­ dian, who had lost his right leg to vähk (cancer) planned to run across Canada to raise funds to fight the disease, Terry Fox jooksud (runs) are held every September all over Canada and the world – millions of people take part in 25 countries to be exact. Terry made it two-thirds of the way to his goal when his cancer returned – from St John’s, Newfoundland, through six provinces to Thunder Bay, Ontario. He ran 3, 339 miles, close to a marathon a day, for 143 days. 13 Terry Fox Runs were held in the U.S. this year, 12 in Europe (none in Estonia yet), and 15 in Brazil alone, the majority of those a­ t Maple Bear (Canadian) Global Schools. Read more at www.terryfox.org/international-runs.

This year we found out and experienced firsthand that basi­ cally all Canadian public schools hold Terry Fox walk/ runs at their respective schools in the latter half of September.

People annetavad (donate) funds sponsoring the runners, who are able to write on a

kleeps (sticker), who they are running for, or in memory of.

This 10 year-old runner’s Mamma has made it through a rinna/eemaldus (mastectomy) and keemia/ravi (chemotherapy).

She’s been lucky. Always be sure to heed the call for all manner of cancer sõel/uuringud (screenings). As a dual citizen, I took part in 2 in Eesti this year and now have been encouraged to participate in 2 upon arriving in Canada. Everyone seems to know I had a rather significant birthday recently... What’s bit­ tersweet is that I’m being asked (as a Canadian) to take part in colorectal cancer screening for the first time, whereas my 76-year-old father-in-law in Eesti has never been offered such a possible life-saving ­opportunity. Thank goodness there is jäme/soole/vähi (colon cancer) screening every 2 years in Estonia now, but it’s for ­people with ravi/kindlustus (health care insurance) aged 6069. Needless to say, it’s a very teretulnud algatus (welcome initiative).

Remission is the reduction or disappearance of the signs and symptoms of a disease and is often used when speaking of cancer. In Estonian you can say

Vähi/kasvataja is a crayfish farmer, vähk/kasvaja is a can­ cerous growth / tumour. The Tropic of Cancer is vähi pööri/ joon (or põhja/pööri/joon) – the first being both the circle of latitude and the novel of the ­ same name. The täht/kuju (astrological sign) of people ­ born between 21. juuni and 22. juuli is also vähk (Cancer), aka vähi täht/kujus sündinud ini­me­ sed.

The stickers handed out to students in September read: “Terry ran for me. I am running for ____” This 5th grader in Toronto ran for her vana/ ema (grandmother), in this case called Mamma, who fought rinna/vähk (breast cancer) at age 82 in Eesti this past year and survived. She is currently mushrooming on Saaremaa island. In this eesti keele year and recent week, it’s also a good reminder that in Estonian Mamma is ­written with 2 M-s. Like in Italian (and Swedish): Mamma Mia!

Photo: Riina Kindlam

“vähi / vähk/tõve taandumine”, (“withdrawal / retreat” of the disease), or informally that the disease has been seljatatud (overcome, from the wrestling term, the direct translation of which implies pinning the ­opponent on “its” back).

If you were to search for “vähid Eestis” or “Eesti vähid” on the internet, you would get two kinds of results: the species of kümne/jalalised (decapod) crustaceans or shellfish (vähid, vähi/laadsed, koorik/loomad) living in Estonia and the most common types of cancer (vähk/

Üksi pole keegi. Nobody is alone Financial support from EFC helps our community thrive – together.

A runaway favourite from this summer’s Laulupidu had the entire audience of 150,000 singing along. Üksi pole keegi creates a phenomenal feeling of connection – between people, between generations, and even reaching beyond to our ances­ tors.

As Canadian-Estonians, we are grateful to those who came before us and created the insti­ tutions and community we en­ joy today. The Estonian Foun­ dation of Canada was founded to ensure our community stays strong for generations to come.

For 45 years, individuals have donated to EFC to preserve our language, heritage, and culture.

In turn, EFC helps fund our ­vibrant community with support to our many organizations, a v­ ­ ariety of activities and high­quality events. Üksi pole keegi. Nobody is alone.

This spring, the EFC Board reviewed over 25 requests for financial support from across the country, ranging from special projects and events to ­ Estonian summer camps and organizations for which ongo­ ­ ing funding is vital.

In addition to the fall fund­ ing commitments for Estonia Choir and for Laulupidu partici­ pants, this spring EFC approved funding for Toronto Eesti Meeskoor, Hamilton Estonian Society Choir, and for Estonian

singers from Ontario who ­participated in Esto2019 in Helsinki. In total, EFC provided over $12,000 to support extra­ ordinary expenses associated with Laulupidu – from extra workshops and concerts, to ap­ plication and participation fees.

Although many of us visited Estonia this summer, attendance was stable and even increased at the Estonian summer camps at Jõekääru and Seedrioru.

Support from EFC helps the camps remain affordable and attractive for families, so they ­ keep coming back and remain connected with their language and heritage. Estonian summer camp organizers are able to focus on creating memorable ­ experiences for our children ­because they know EFC finan­ cial support is available.

Metsaülikool and Seedrioru Suvihari are other great sum­ mer traditions that receive EFC support and bring Estonians to­ gether to share traditions and explore new ideas.

Across Canada, EFC sup­ ports the Vancouver Estonian Society Jaanipäev celebrations, their library, and the quarterly magazine Postipoiss. Spon­sor­ ship of golf tournaments in Montreal and Toronto helps support summer sporting events where a different mix of Canadian-Estonians can come together.

The Alberta Estonian Heri­ tage Society with help from EFC sponsored a special art installation of Estonian artists ­

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Varvara & Mar at the New Gallery in Calgary, a thought­provoking piece on nationalism.

In Montreal, the annual Jaani­ päev celebrations at Lattemäe again received EFC support and continue to be a draw. The Foundation is also pleased to renew support for the Baltic Artists’ Association annual art exhibit in Montreal, a coopera­ tive effort with the Latvian and Lithuanian communities.

Looking ahead to the fall, EFC is not only a proud found­ ing sponsor of EstDocs, but also continues to support this annual film festival which attracts both Canadians and ­ Estonians of all ages.

Estonian Music Week, start­ ed as part of the EV100 cele­ brations, continues to entertain and connect us to each other and to contemporary Estonian culture. As a major sponsor, EFC enthusiastically supports the addition of a tech con­ ference Latitude44 to this year’s events, which will also inform Canadians about Estonia today.

EFC continues to be a major supporter of language and cultural education across Canada, including significant support for

tõbi, pl -tõved) among the ­country’s population. The most common crustacean in Eesti is the jõe/vähk (European cray­ fish). There is also a Baltic shrimp (Lääne/mere KREVETT) in Estonian waters, which has even found a permanent home on these shores, in New­found­ land, the CBC reported in 2015.

And it’s always good to know that lobster is HOMAAR in Estonian. According to statistika from 2016, the most common vähk/kasvajad (malignant tu­ mours) among men in Estonia were cancers of the ees/nääre heritage schools in Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto. Each year, EFC awards honoraria to graduates of the Toronto Esto­ nian Schools in recognition of their dedication and achieve­ ments in Estonian culture and language. This year, EFC ­honoraria were presented to Liisa Osso, Alexander Johannes Gonneau, Annely Tiia Kütt, Thomas Osso, Maarika Neges and Kalle McFarlane.

EFC also offers scholarships to post-secondary students in 2nd year or above each year.

Congratulations to the 2018 EFC Scholarship recipients Joshua Gold, Liis Jõgi, Erik Kadai, Mark Pettinen, Tomas Saun, Elin Sõber-Williams and Emilie Tamtik. The application deadline for this year is October 15, 2019.

Through community dona­ tions, the Foundation supports each and every one of us by making sure we continue to have opportunities to connect with each other and to keep our

Cancer, the disease, can be described as having the chenae / claws of a decapod crustacean – SÕRAD in Estonian. The pin­ cer-like tips of sõrad are used for gripping (haaramine) and can also be called haaratsid. A sõrg, (pl sõrad) is also the clo­ ven hoof of a pig, deer, et al.

And a crowbar is a sõrg/kang, which people simply call a sõrg.

Keep running and fighting for whoever needs your support in battling cancer! Huge strides continue to be made. Although Terry could not resume his run and died 10 months later, he did not lose his fight. He said: “It’s got to keep going without me”, and it is. To date over $700 mil­ lion has been raised for cancer research in Terry’s name.

RIINA KINDLAM

language and heritage alive.

Together, we can all ensure our future here in Canada. Üksi pole keegi. Nobody is alone Funded solely by donations and bequests from the community, the Estonian Foundation of Canada is a registered charity that supports Estonian cultural and heritage initiatives across Canada. Donations are accepted at any time. To learn more about the Foundation or to donate, call 416-465-5600 or ­ visit estonianfoundation.ca EFC accepts applications for funding grants twice a year: October 15 and April 15. All applications are reviewed by the Board of Directors according to rigorous review criteria and CRA Guidelines for charitable foundations. The EFC Scholarship application deadline is October 15.

Subscribe to the EFC Com­ munity Connections News­letter newsletter@estonianfoundation. ca to stay up-to-date!