Kenneth Makhan had a great love for nature, the environment and animals. As a child, his favourite pastime was exploring the fields, woods, and brooks in search of frogs, toads, snakes, and other small creatures.
Each summer in his youth, he went to Ways of the Woods day camp where he learned about the environment and the habitat of these animals.
His other passion was riding his bike. Even before he went to school, he used to whip along at top speed on his bike--sailing around corners and up into the driveway at a breakneck pace.
He became an Expert Class down hill mountain bike racer. He was also well known as a knowledgeable bicycle mechanic and worked part time repairing and assembling bicycles while going to college.
Sadly, Ken developed schizophrenia at the age of 23 years, and passed away suddenly in his sleep due to an interaction of medications at the age of 25 years. As a tribute to the spirit of Ken and in remembrance of his love of nature, Rosemary Makhan, Ken’s mother, has designed and created a beautiful wildlife/nature themed quilt in loving memory of her son.
Halton Quilters' Guild members have made and donated a quilt from this pattern to be used in an awareness and fundraising campaign to help raise the profile of the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. Recently, Rosemary Makhan and Mary Alberti appeared on CHTV with the quilt. Throughout the morning show Rosemary told her personal story and emphasized the importance of family education and support for families living with schizophrenia. Mary Alberti informed the audience about the programs of the Society, and let people know where they can turn for support.
The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario is proud to announce that the $10,928.00 raised from this quilt raffle will be used for two very important programs. The Family Education program is a twelve week course which provides information and support for families of those affected by schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses.
The PALS Mentorship Program provides mentors who help recovering persons to set and achieve goals that will aid the recovery process and help them to reintegrate into the community. PALS is an acronym for Promoting Active Life Skills.
Halton Quilters' Guild members also made a second Woodland quilt which was donated to the Canadian Wild Life Federation to be used in their youth educational program to promote appreciation, understanding and a feeling of responsibility towards wildlife and its habitat.