Both have experienced the worst mankind has to offer. Both survived. Now, each provides sustenance and love for the other.
One is a 34-year-old journalist and now a best-selling author. The other is a First Nations child of 16 who dreams of going to university. Because of this pair’s friendship, that could very well happen.
The journalist, Amanda Lindhout, was held hostage for 15 months in Somalia where she was tortured and repeatedly raped. Somehow, she found a way to forgive her captors and wrote a memoir, A House in the Sky, about her ordeal and its aftermath.
The First Nations child, Rinelle Harper, was left to die beside a river in Winnipeg last November after a brutal and horrific sexual assault. She continues to make her way back to sanity.
Their paths intersected several months ago when Rinelle’s mother, Julie, and Lindhout made contact on Facebook.
Rinelle, her mother said, had been inspired by Lindhout’s strength in the face of adversity.
Lindhout reached out to Rinelle. They spoke often by phone.
Then, last month the Harpers’ home on the Garden Hill First Nation burned to the ground. Lindhout immediately began raising money for the Harper family.
She didn’t stop there.
Knowing how desperately Rinelle wants to go to university, Lindhout made contact with her alma mater in Nova Scotia, St. Francis Xavier University, to set up meetings for Rinelle and her mother with school officials to discuss a possible scholarship.
Still, a big hurdle remained. A hurdle solved by the kindness of strangers.
Because the Harpers had no money to pay for flights from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia, Lindhout put a message on Facebook, appealing for Air Miles donations to pay the flights.
Within two hours, two women from Edmonton, Leah Brown and Rosanne Alldis, who had never met the Rinelle, came through with the Air Miles.
Meetings between the Harpers and St. Francis Xavier officials begin next Wednesday.
RCI contacted Lindhout by phone in Australia, where she is on a speaking tour.
Listen
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.