Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
What started as a whim has grown in scale exponentially for Ryan Hinds.
The Ticat defensive back – who began volunteering at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital a year ago to gain experience and further his post-football goal of a medical career – latched onto a charitable cause close to his heart and native country.
Hinds was born in the South American country of Guyana, before immigrating to Canada with his family at the age of eight.
When the Ticat got wind of a project led by his superiors at McMaster and aimed at his place of birth, he instantly agreed to be a part of it.
The doctors were looking for a means to expose their efforts to improve pediatric care in Guyana to the public, and Hinds was a local football player who could lend the project some clout.
Initially, the Ticat admits that he was largely “a figurehead” in the operation.
But as the situation in Guyana – where pediatric care is in a state of complete disrepair – became clearer to Hinds, his role expanded.
“I ended up getting a lot more involved than I thought I was going to be,” says Hinds.
The McMaster-based project gained significant steam when it linked up with the existing Guyana Help the Kids initiative led by Dr. Narendra C. Singh – the Chief of Pediatrics at Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto.
Singh led a network of doctors from across Canada, dedicated to improving the pediatric care offered in Guyana, and he had sympathetic connections within the country’s government that ensured official sanction for his cause.
Guyanese support for the project is such that Hinds and fellow visitors to Georgetown in the spring were treated to a friendly meeting with the country’s President.
The Ticat explains that the lasting relationship between Singh and Guyanese authorities convinced them that the charitable project had no ulterior motive in mind.
“The concern for most governments is that we would be doing something to get something back, a concern that there’s some sort of underhanded motive at play,” says Hinds.
“It’s really good that [the government] supported [the project], because now we can say that it’s not just a fun idea but something that we need to do.”
The medical background of the members of Guyana Help the Kids gives them access to the supplies and equipment needed to make the changes they seek in the South American country.
The charity doesn’t simply raise money and hand it over, but rather invests in materials and personally transports them to the wards – the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and pediatric department at Georgetown Public Hospital – targeted for improvement.
“What we didn’t want to do was just hand over a big wad of cash and say, “Do something with this,”” Hinds explains. “Because then you don’t know where your money goes and what’s being done.”
“You want to make sure that what you’re doing goes to the right place and does the right things.”
“We’re personally buying the materials ourselves and taking them down there.”
“The area’s already cleared for us. We’ve been through the tour of what the area was and so we know what’s there and what needs to be put where.”
Hinds’ time in Guyana earlier this year brought the reality of the situation there home to him.
He was determined in the visit’s wake to become more involved, and it was a chance meeting with the owners of the Robar Centre – Susan and Paul Edwards – that provided him with an outlet.
Seated with the couple at the Ticats Touchdown Dinner in April, Hinds explained the nature of his charitable work to them. They, in turn, described how their facility – which serves as a heavy machinery training centre – has been used as a fundraising tool in the past.
Hinds’ interest was piqued, and he resolved to create an event that would marry the two ideas.
But he couldn’t do it alone.
“I thought I could do it myself – I was super ambitious – but I was way off,” says the Ticat of his initial plan.
Hinds enlisted the help of Imagine PR Consulting and sponsors M&M Meats and Cable 14, and the end result of their efforts will be seen on Sunday at the Robar Centre (600 Nebo Rd.) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The event – dubbed “Touch a Tractor” – will open the centre’s wide array of heavy machinery to public display, and include appearances by Ticat players, cheerleaders and professional race car driver Ashley McCalmont. (More information is available here)
Hinds envisions the event as entertainment for children and adults alike, who have played with miniatures of the machines on hand since their infancy.
“It’s going to be fun for everyone who’s never had the chance to sit in the seat of a crane for example or a bulldozer,” says the Ticat.
“On top of that, there’s going to be a collection of Harley Davidson bikes, a race car, a fire truck – everything that you can think of that’s a huge machine that you probably had as a toy as a kid.”
“Now you get to play with it as an adult.”
While participants enjoy the events on offer on Sunday, the money they put forth will be directed to the efforts of Guyana Help the Kids.
It’s a cause that is both noble and knowledgeable, and targeted to make change in the South American state.
“It’s not just a few idealists who want to make a change,” says Hinds of his charitable cause. “It’s a bunch of people who have the know-how and have been making the change for a while.”
“Now, it’s just another project on a pretty large scale.”
