3 Guelph sisters empowered to support Indigenous communities in Waterloo region

There's been a growing call for change around the country, afterthe remains of an estimated 215 Indigenous children were found at a former residential school in Kamloops,B.C.

Three young sisters are a part of the change people are expecting and yearning to see.

Yvaine Lewis, 12, Aelish Lewis, 10, and Fae Lewis, 8, have worked to raise money for Waterloo region's Anishnabeg Outreach Centre of Indigenous Healing.

"They help people that are in Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo," said Aelish.

"I think that's really important because around us there might be people that are having trouble and they can help people [that] are closer."

The girls are doing this as a way to show their support and compassion towardIndigenous communities in Guelph and Kitchener-Waterloo.

The spark of difficult conversations at home

The topic sparked difficult conversations at home for the Lewis family.

The findings of the 215 children in Kamloops, B.C.had a strong affect on the girls.

"I felt very sadbecause that was so many kids," said Fae.

Mairghread Lewis, mom of the three girls, said she attempted to keep away the details about the number children being found at the burial site from her youngest daughter, Fae.

"I know for Truth and Reconciliation it's really important to be truthful with the kids, so when that 215 detail came out in the news, I was really rocked by it for a few days," she said.

"I know it was a detail that I was hoping to keep from my eight-year-old, thinking she was too young."

After having conversations with her big sisters, Yvaine and Aelish, as well as her parents and teacher, Faesaid she was aware and understood the importance of the issue, and that was a relief for Mairghread.

"I've been really amazed and sort of had a parental shift on how many details I can share with her at the age of eight and what she'll do with that knowledge," she said.

'Children for Change' fundraiser

Through their event called 'Children for Change,' the Lewis girls aimed to raise awareness of the horrendous discovery of the 215 Indigenous children's remains, as well as create community solidarity.

The sisters originally planned to line up 215 children in their neighbourhood on Saturday starting at their school, King George Public School on Lemon Street in Guelph, and continue all the way to Grange Street.

"We didn't get all the people, but we got a lot of people," Aelish said.

Mairghreadsaid one street looked full from the park through to the school.

"Visually it had impact and I had a lot of people come up to me and tell me how emotional the whole piece was," she said. "I think that was successful."

Stephen Jackson, CEO of the Anishnabeg Outreach Centre of Healing, says he thought their initiative was "fabulous."

"I thought it was an incredible initiative," said Jackson. "They wanted to do something to honour [the 215 children], I thought that was fabulous."

Jackson said they are going to use the funds as part of their spirit bundles, which are caring packages that include items such as Kleenex, toilet paper, reusable clothes and other items, or invest inone of their other programs that helpIndigenous people in the region.

Jackson said he sees the Lewis girls as partners who are willing to create change within the community. For the Anishnabeg outreach, the team defines Truth and Reconciliation as helping Indigenous people heal, achieve economic independence, build relationships and work together.

People getting the message behind 'Children for Change'

The Lewis girls said they hoped people willremember their eventas "powerful." They wantpeople toraise their voices and think about their community. They say they believe that's what happened.

Yvainesaid many cars stopped to make donation, as there were 10 buckets in place for people to drop coins.

Mairghread said it was nice to see their neighbours come outto see what was going on, and she said Yvaine was great at explaining where proceeds were going.

"A lot of parents who are in the neighbourhood know me or know my girls and they'd say 'Thanks to your girls for organizing [this],'" she said.

"I do think that, without this emphasis on them, the event wouldn't have happened in our neighbourhood and I think at least for us, mygirls can take on challenging things."