Ontario woman donates home to Indigenous community
An Ontario woman is giving her land back to the Indigenous community and is hoping to inspire others to do the same.
When Lidia Tromp was faced with moving into a nursing home, she knew what she wanted to do with the house that she lived in for 55 years.
"God put it in my head and my heart to give [the house] away," Tromp said in a news release from Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS) on Friday. "It was such a liberating thought. Good will come from it, I'm sure."
She bought the house in Tillsonburg, near London, Ont., after moving to Canada from Holland – where she was born and raised.
Upon moving into the house, she found a set of iron bookends inside a cupboard that would later inspire her to give back to the Indigenous community. The item depicting "a person slumped over on the back of a horse" represented "the suffering of Indigenous people from their loss of land, children, and other forms of oppression," she said.
Often working several jobs simultaneously to pay the mortgage, she still found the time to give back to her community. Over the course of her life, she has made over 10,000 handcrafted dolls and has sent some to young children in other countries.
With the help of her lawyer, the Sault Ste. Marie-based OAHS was contacted in June, and after an inspection was completed, the donation was accepted.
Lidia Tromp was gifted a necklace by Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (Supplied)
"She has the kindest, gentlest, and most giving heart and soul of anyone I have ever met and likely will ever meet. I was honored to be the representative from OAHS to meet Lidia, I was incredibly moved," Wanda Chorney, the manager of title services for the organization, said in the news release.
The donation of the home will help provide an Indigenous family with safe and affordable rental housing. OAHS prioritizes individuals and families escaping violence, this includes women and children who are living in shelters, victims of sex trafficking, and people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless.
"I hope things work out better now for the Native nation than what has been done so far," Tromp said.
OAHS manages and maintains the properties in the rental housing programs and also offers a homeownership program.
No one has yet moved into the home donated by Tromp, spokesperson Sarah McBain told CTV News in an email.
Tromp is currently residing in a care facility in Tillsonburg.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.