Ontario Woman Donates Home to Indigenous Community
When Lidia Tromp, a woman from Ontario, Canada, was faced with moving into a nursing home, she already knew just what she wanted to do with her home of 55 years.
“God put it in my head and my heart to give [the house] away,” Tromp said in a news release from Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) on Friday. “It was such a liberating thought. Good will come from it, I’m sure.”
Tromp purchased her home in Tillsonburg – near London, Ontario — after she moved to Canada from her home country of Holland. After settling into the house, she noticed a set of iron bookends that depicted “a person slumped over on the back of a horse” represented “the suffering of Indigenous people from their loss of land, children, and other forms of oppression,” she said.
Despite sometimes working multiple jobs at a time to afford her mortgage, Tromp always found the time to give back to her community. Throughout the years, she has made over 10,000 handmade dolls, even sending some to children in other countries.
With the help of her lawyer, her home was inspected and the donation of the home was accepted.
“She has the kindest, gentlest, and most giving heart and soul of anyone I have ever met and likely will ever meet. I was honored to be the representative from OAHS to meet Lidia, I was incredibly moved,” Wanda Chorney, the manager of title services for the organization, said in the news release.
Tromp’s donated home will provide an indigenous family with safe and affordable rental housing. OAHS gives priority to individuals and families escaping violence, including women and children who are living in shelters, victims of sex trafficking, and people who are either experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless.
“I hope things work out better now for the Native nation than what has been done so far,” Tromp said.
Image source: CTV News Toronto
Previous
