Canadians
are having a hand in creating the world’s
first large-scale monument to survivors
of child abuse. The Child Abuse Survivor
Monument was started 18 years ago to create
a place where people can heal from, discuss,
and become aware of the issue of child abuse.
People can participate in the monument through
the Helping Hands for Child Abuse Campaign,
which will assist in changing the way Canadians
approach this difficult issue.
The finished monument sculpture
of two massive bronze figures adorned with
a sculptural quilt will be 30 feet wide
by 11 feet tall, making it one of the largest
bronze sculptures and social action arts
projects in Canadian history. 190 survivors
of child abuse and their supporters worked
on the sculptural quilt, each making a ‘quilt
square’ where they sculpted images
and words. “Each [quilt] square is
an intensely personal story, creating a
monument which makes us understand”,
says The Honourable Ken Dryden, MP. Having
a powerful and public monument to survivors
of child abuse will give them a place to
heal and the public a symbol for awareness
and discussion campaigns.
Over 5,000 Canadians have
already participated in The Monument through
The Helping Hands For Child Abuse Campaign,
including such notables as The Honorable
Ken Dryden, former NHL player Lanny McDonald,
Alberta’s First Lady Colleen Kline,
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and Vancouver-born
actor Hayden Christensen. The campaign revolves
around participants sending in an outline
of their hand and a personal message about
child abuse that will be permanently placed
inside the hollow center of the finished
monument.
“On behalf of
my son Martin Arnold Kruze, I promise to
save ‘Just One Child’”,
reads the message on Imantz Kruz’s.
The quote comes from his son, who committed
suicide in the 1997 after he came out about
the abuse he suffered at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Imantz Kruze is one of the most diligent
volunteers and supporters for both the monument
and the Helping Hands for Child Abuse campaign
because he believes that “the monument
is the most important thing to follow in
Martin’s hope of saving just one child
or survivor of child abuse.”
The Helping Hands For Child
Abuse campaign has the power to make a significant
national and international impact on its
own. In the words of Dr. Michael Irving,
Artistic/ Executive Director of the monument,
“In making Hands, people are creating
messages that, together, become a collective
visualization and a force for change in
how they want the world to be for children
and survivors of child abuse.”
To give a “hand”,
an individual would follow three steps:
First, make an outline of their hand on
an 8 ½” by 11” sheet
of paper. Second, on or around the outline
of their hand, write or draw a personal
message that is a visualization of how they
want the world should be for children or
survivors of child abuse. Last, send their
“hand” to the Child Abuse Survivor
Monument at 274 Rhodes Ave, Toronto, Ontario
M4L 3A3 for placement inside the hollow
center of the finished monument.
Learn more, participate
and donate online at www.childabusemonument.com.
Donations in the form of a cheque can be
addressed to The Child Abuse Survivor Monument
and sent to 274 Rhodes Ave, Toronto, Ontario
M4L 3A3. Receipts will be issued by the
Children’s Aid Foundation.
