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Poignant story of 'orphans for profit' shared with OMAH audience

Lori Oschefski discussed trials and tribulations of 'home children' — many of whom lived and were buried in Orillia

NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY
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The Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) Speaker Series hosted Lori Oschefski, president of Home Children Canada, as guest speaker recently.

She delivered a passionate talk to a large Zoom audience about a part of Canadian history that many are not aware of, the story of the British Home Children. She believes that this story must be shared.

Oschefski explained that the Industrial Revolution in Britain brought many citizens from rural settings to cities, where there was extreme poverty and overcrowding and all of the societal problems as a result of these conditions. Some families simply fell on hard times.

Philanthropists took the children in from these families with the intention to give them a better life. The best known was Thomas Barnardo and the Barnardo children.

A program was started to send the children to Canada without the knowledge or permission of their families. Some families were told after the fact. Most never knew. Many of the children never saw their siblings, parents, or families of origin again.

Oschefski explained that between 1869 and 1948, over 100,000 children, between toddlers and 18 years of age, were forcibly emigrated from the United Kingdom to Canada.

Known as Home Children, many were mistreated and had difficult childhoods. Two-thirds of the Home Children suffered abuse, neglect and sometimes even death at the hands of their caregivers or others. Generally, there were no safeguards in place to protect these children.

Four million Canadians are descendants of Home Children. Most Canadians are unaware of their story. Central Ontario received a large number of these children.

Oschefski explained that the children were brought here to be indentured servants, “orphans for profit.” The children were bound by law until they were 18 and their meagre earnings, from which living expenses were deducted, were held in trust until they turned 21 years old.

Citizens of our own community have family members who were among these children. Many lived and are buried in Orillia. Oschefski's mother, Muriel Oschefski, was one of them, brought here at the age of two. Her mother’s experience set in motion a passion in Oschefski to find out more. She discovered that not only was her mother a Home Child but so were several other relatives.

Oschefski explained that many Home Children, like her mother, did not share their story due to the stigma attached to it. Citing from her book, Bleating of the Lambs: Canada’s British Home Children (2015), Lori explained, “… guilt was instilled into almost every Home Child. They became convinced by society, both British and Canadian, that they were inferior and unworthy — second-class citizens.”

Oschefski's passion for the Home Children came from the need to help her mother and then others who were looking for help. She founded Home Children Canada in 2012. It is now the leading organization in the world that advocates for the lost voices of so many children brought to our shores.

Home Children Canada provides families with a platform to tell their stories and find free help with their own family research.

Today we celebrate and honour the Home Children for their strength and courage, for their achievements, their service in our wars, and their help in developing Canada.

We also thank Oschefski for her advocacy and bringing the story of the British Home Children to the forefront.

If you missed Oschefski's talk, click on the following link to access OMAH’s YouTube channel to hear a recording of the talk: www.orilliamuseum.org/5.

Don’t miss our next guest speaker. On Oct. 19 we welcome Jayne Poolton-Turvey with her talk, The Dieppe Raid: 80 Years of Tragedy and Tribulation.

Click here to register and receive a link to the talks or call Monica at 705-326-2159 or email [email protected].

Admission is free, but donations to OMAH are appreciated.

— Submitted by Mary Ann Grant, of the OMAH History Committee

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