Kerry Pitt, President, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Canada

Originally uploaded by Project Healing Waters Canada

On August 01, 1969 my Dad gave me a fly tying kit for my birthday.

I think he figured I would crank out flies he could use when we were out on the lake. My dad was sadly mistaken and for a number of years my flies looked like they had come from someone’s windshield. Dad knew I was a teenager and there wasn’t much he could tell me, but I watched him fly fish and saw the peace it brought him.

Over the many years I have spent fly fishing, I have met so many great people who have given of their knowledge and time to make me a better fisherman. I knew I wanted to find a way to give back to the sport.

Along the road, I began looking for a way to make fly fishing more meaningful both in my life and in the lives of others. There is so much power in spending time on the water; it is healing, both physically and spiritually. I knew that others could benefit from the experience.

In early 2006 I came across Project Healing Waters Inc. while doing some Internet research. I realized right away that the programs they offered were what I was looking for as well.

I wrote to the President and Founder, Ed Nicholson and asked him if he would mind if I tried to bring Project Healing Waters to Canada. Ed wrote back and said, “Hey I don’t know how you are going to do it, but go ahead!”

In 2009, after lots of letter writing and research, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Project Healing Waters Inc. and became Project Healing Waters Canada.

Many people have asked me why I did not start my own program. My answer to that is that I believe that people helping people is all about humanity, about being “Human.” Borders should not matter; we need to take care of each other despite political and geographical obstacles.
The people at Project Healing Waters Inc. and the men and women I have met here in Canada who offer support in many ways, are proof to me, that what I envision can and will come true.