Dear Members of the Estonian Community,
On behalf of the Estonian Relief Committee in Canada, I am writing to express our heartfelt gratitude for your incredible support during our recent advocacy efforts. Your dedication and unity have made a tangible difference for Ehatare Retirement and Nursing Home and, more broadly, for the preservation of culturally specific care for our seniors.
Thanks to the overwhelming response to our letter-writing campaign, Ehatare has been selected as one of the participants in the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s pilot program for cultural homes. This milestone would not have been possible without the letters you wrote, each one demonstrating to the Ministry the deep value and necessity of cultural care for our aging community members. Your voices conveyed the importance of maintaining a sense of heritage, language, and tradition in the care provided to our seniors, and those voices were heard.
This achievement is a testament to the strength of our community and our shared commitment to ensuring that our elders are cared for in a setting that respects and honors their Estonian roots. It also serves as a reminder of what we can achieve when we work together with a common purpose.
To each and every one of you who took the time to participate in this campaign, thank you. Whether you wrote letters, encouraged others to do so, or simply spread the word, your contribution was invaluable. This success belongs to all of us.
Ehatare’s inclusion in this program will allow it to continue offering culturally specific services while also enhancing the overall care experience for its residents. This is a significant step forward, and we are deeply grateful for the Ministry’s recognition of the importance of cultural homes.
To each and every one of you who took the time to participate in this campaign, thank you. Whether you wrote letters, encouraged others to do so, or simply spread the word, your contribution was invaluable. This success belongs to all of us.
A special thank you goes out to Maimu Mölder, who is the Managing Director at Ehatare Foundation. Maimu's community engagement was instrumental in achieving the level of community participation in letter campaign that made the Estonian Relief Committee and Ehatare standout. Through outreach activities and services, the focus of Ehatare Foundation is to support our seniors to live well at home and help facilitate a smooth transition to greater retirement support or long-term care, at Ehatare, when the need arises.
Let us celebrate this achievement and continue to support Ehatare and similar initiatives that preserve and strengthen our cultural identity. Together, we ensure that our community remains vibrant and that our seniors are cared for with the respect and dignity they deserve.
With sincere gratitude on behalf of the Board, Staff and Residents of Ehatare,
Allan Meiusi
Chair, Estonian Relief Committee in Canada
