Environment, General interest, Great lives, People, Rose Charities People, Rose News, South Asia Region, South East Asia Region

Jan Johnston: love, life and care in our world of need

On 16th August 2023 Rose Charities and the world lost Jan Johnston whos superpower was boundless compassion for the needs of others and the world . It is impossible to enumerate the huge number of causes to which Jan, in her vibrant, energetic life had dedicated herself to. Jan was the 2008 Charity Rose Laureate, the highest acknowledgment of ones Rose Charities peers of service to mankind.

Jan Johnston. 2008 Charity Rose Laureat

Rose Charities was privileged to have Jan as one of its members becoming involved with her in her pivotal work supporting orphanages in S. Vietnam such as the Be Tho Orphanage in HCMC. . This lead on to her founding with her husband Bill, (the Canadian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City) of a Vietnam Rose Charities organization which was officially registered then ran for many years. This continued her work with orphans as well as supporting a blind training school (Sia Centre) , sight restoration operations and carrying out emergency relief operations especially in post typhoon and flood disaster where rural areas especially suffer greatly. In this latter area Jan extended her efforts later to pivotal work in Cebu, Philippines assisting with the organization of emergency relief and rebuild after the terrible destruction of super-typhoon Hiyan

Jan and Bill hosted the 2008 Rose Charities International conference in Ho Chi Minh City in their home. Impressively this was needed at the last minute when the Vietnam Government decided that the conference application process had not been completed correctly (despite delegates having arrived !) Perhaps this was a good thing as the event was a huge success due to the arrangements they made.

The paper flowers of Than Thien…

One of Jan’s most lovely initiatives was working towards the re-establishment in Than Thien Village of the rural ancient art of paper flower making, for which Vietnam used to be renowned.

On leaving Vietnam, Jan and Bill generously spent half a year in Cambodia assisting Rose Charities Australia’s Consultant Physiotherapist Johanna Thomson in setting up the Rose Rehab Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Chea Chumneas Hospital, Kandal, in conjunction also with Professor Nous Sarom, the leading rehabilitation (and cleft palate) surgeon in the country and another of the Rose Charities ‘family’. During that time Jan became very interested in rural apiary program(s) and spent much time and effort investigating possibilities for honey beekeeping in all parts of the country .

While most of the Rose Charities initiatives established or assisted by Jan exist to this day, simply stating the facts of Jan’s charitable work however is an utterly inadequate way to describe Jan. Rarely has there been one more instilled with the love of life, her family, and her huge number of friendships. Travelling far and wide with Bill, both in the Canadian Diplomatic Service and privately, they lived in a score of locations at different times worldwide and ever left behind people devoted to her sparkling personality and underlying kindness. Jan’s heart was truly huge and it was almost impossible for a human cause or need to pass her by without her picking it up and trying to help.

In recent years, the environment and the welfare of trees became her passion. She was a tireless campaigner for protecting the remaining stands of old growth forest in B.C . It is for this reason that Rose Charities has started a tree-planting fund in her name for anyone wishing to assist which what she loved so dearly.

We miss Jan awfully. But we at Rose Charities are incredibly thankful to have her as a star in the Rose Charities Family for so many years.

Jan Johnston Memorial Tree-planting Fund (select the fund in the list of causes)

Africa, Education, General interest, Healthcare, Rose Charities People

Rose Charities people…..Derrick Obin (Uganda)

Hello everyone. Am Derrick Obin a 25years old  Ugandan. My country is found in East Africa. It is such a beautiful part of the world to live in. My journey with Rose Charity has been such a life changing one. The organization stood with me from childhood through support in education till completion. The tuition, psychological and emotional support I got from my coordinators enabled me to complete my course and am now happily serving the health sector in my country with love and passion. The message I have for the world is that help rendered towards helping someone achieve their dream not only benefits the individual but it is service to the community and the nation at large. A small support could yield a great positive impact in the community and a nation. I am a living testimony of this. Much love from Uganda. 

Derrick Obin at work
Africa, Community Support, Education, General interest, Health Education, Healthcare, Rose Charities People

Rose Charities people….. ANDREW MACNAB (Canada)

Brighter Smiles Group. Unsurpassed understanding. Unparalleled friend to Uganda.

Prof. Andrew Macnab (Brighter Smiles ) and Ms Joanna Thompson (Rose Rehab Australia) receiving the prestigious Charity Rose Awards for outstanding charitable service to their fellow women, children and men.
Andrew in Uganda 1960s

Andrew first went to Uganda 60 years ago (image) and has returned an almost uncountable number of times since. As a paediatrician, Andrew has over half a lifetime been able to improve child health in Uganda by employing school-based health promotion. a concept that he originally developed in collaboration with Canada’s First Nations for their school system. The model seeks to creatively engage school children and their teachers to enable each child to acquire knowledge and practical life-skills that benefit their long term health. It is an approach now endorsed globally by WHO.

Tooth examination for a Ugandan child

Andrew’s approach met its first success in the dramatic improvement of oral health among Ugandan children. Andrew points out that .. It is notable that number one reason a child in Canada requires a general anesthetic, with all its risks, needs for specialized staff and equipment and its fear for a child, is for badly decayed teeth !.

Andrew, a Consultant at UBC both in Pediatrics and Urology founded his ‘Brighter Smiles’ organization to promote and implement his programs from a Canadian base and in the early 2000’s merged it as a member program of Rose Charities (bringing a huge panoply of experience, innovation and scope to the latter) and remains one of the most distinguished, internationally focused members of the Rose family

Health Promoting Schooling Uganda. Andrew Macnab’s and Brighter Smiles great success.. !

Andrews Africa programs (both Uganda and elsewhere) are, significantly, collaborations with local communities. Oral health (as mentioned above) led on to nutrition. Andrew promoted school health-nutrition plants plots and now many Ugandan schools now plant gardens and use the produce to benefit malnourished pupils through lunch programs. Malnutrition weakens children’s resistance to common infections and restricts their ability to learn. Andrew points out how much anemia and delayed reading age are remediable by the addition of vitamin A and iron to children’s diets, which in Uganda were regularly deficient in such. Researching this, his teams found that the innovation of combined planting in school gardens of a new, vitamin A and iron rich yellow sweet potato rootstock with the maize and beans traditionally grown was a highly effective solution.

Malaria in Schools program. One of Andrews major successes to date has been his malaria in school alleviation program. Seeing the problem of endemic malaria as much as an education as a health problem (days missed with stress on child and family superimposed on the danger of the illness) Andrew introduced highly monitored and personally researched program of early diagnosis and treatment, actually carried out by teachers, specifically trained to do so.

Andrew writes.. ‘The solution offered, although simple, was novel at the time. Supported by the Hillman fund (another Rose Charities member group) , our teams taught teachers how to ‘test and treat’ malaria by using a rapid screening test on a drop of blood and artemisinin combination therapy. This safely makes available WHO advocated tools to fight malaria available in rural areas with limited or no access to clinics. A two year evaluation documenting the change in duration of absence from school due to malaria has shown that this school-based approach significantly reduces morbidity – the prevalence of disease in the school area. . Pre-intervention, children used to miss an average of 6.5 school days with each bout of infection, but this has fallen to less than 1 day where teachers are able to screen all the children found to be sick at school (photo 3), and promptly treat those testing positive.’

The extent of Andrews charitable achievements considerably go beyond those above and include urological assistance to rural Uganda seniors (and in Canada, technological invention), promotion of anti-violence-on-women. ( an ongoing campaign has seen a partnership with one of Uganda’s leading popular song studios with their star performers in the development of a song ‘Tekawo Enjawulo’ – We can make it better). Andrew is constantly researching data to find novel or unrecognized ways to improve the wellbeing of communities and the women, men and children who constitute them.

Andrew Macnab, is a truly outstanding member of the Rose Charities ‘family’ who devotes vast experience, academic and practical ability for the benefit of others and has, and continues to both save and improve the lives of tens of thousands, directly and by linkage, to millions. He makes the world a better place

Sustainable and Local. No frills no admin costs…