In honor of Miss Rina, my heart - my soul.

Rina Kandola was undoubtedly the most incredible sister/soulmate i ever could have wished for. But she was way more than just Nina's little sister.

The accident that put her in a weeks long coma - leading to her untimely death May 1st 2024, can never be forgotten. I am SO proud of the fight she showed - every single day - trying her hardest to come out of it.

Now let me tell you about my baby sister... For whom I wished upon a star.

She grew up to be an exceptionally gifted and loving Educator. In her 10+ year career, she was able to truly connect with hundreds of little ones, by understanding their imaginative wonder, all while making sure to structure and guide them through their learning journey.

Her love of early childhood education stemmed from her firm belief that the formative timespan of 0-5 years old is the most crucial period of human development. Many of our adult issues can be traced back to this period and these are the kinds of facts that fascinated her. Once she obtained her diploma from College Lasalle, she got right to work, building her professional experience and earning responsibilities and acclamation through her hard work and creative ideas.

The next step for her was to obtain her Montessori certification. This meant the world to Rina, as the teachings of Maria Montessori spoke to her on many levels, one of which being the pertinence of "learning by doing". I myself (although childless), learned so much from her and some of the happiest moments of my 32 years spent with Rina involved so very many of her work related projects (events, parties, theme days, science projects, world discovery days or other topics). She never ever needed my help, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to contribute any way I could. She made everything seem so interesting and fun!

Some of her favorite subjects to work on with her precious little darlings were; Literature (exploring authors), Geography, the Ocean, Math, Science (through various experiments) - just to name a few. Personally, I would often be taken aback by some of the topics and concepts she could get a small child to assimilate. At 42, I still don't know where Lithuania is on a map!

Her desire to understand child development further pushed her to start a University Certificate in Psychology, which sadly, remains incomplete, due to her untimely passing. She dreamed of one day being able to pursue a Masters' degree in the field and perhaps even develop new theories. Having shared and debated and discussed with her for hours on end over the years, I can definately tell you that she was headed somewhere with that.

One of her many goals in life was to create a non profit organization designed to help children. This is something that I cannot allow myself to ignore. Her noble desire to help anyone and everyone she could - paired with her unwavering and profound love of children, make this project a new life's mission for me. La Fondation Miss Rina will see the light of day and will allow our superstar to live forever.

Throughout her career, I have watched her triumph over adversity, create wonders from bare materials (in her beginings) and truly truly GROW as the incredible human being I've always known she was.

We've watched her dedicate her lunch hours, her evenings and weekends to creating and building her desired projects, never allowing herself to expect less than perfection from her work. Her work ethic was something that the closest people in her life always admired, but she took it to the next level with her work as a Montessori Educator.

The love and appreciation she has felt from the years spent working at Ecole Montessori Montreal is something that I will forever be grateful for.

She built beautiful relationships there and shared so many heart warming stories with me; from the administration, to colleagues, to parents and of course, to the magical kiddos she sincerely called her friends (because "they just get me" she'd say) - I feel like I became part of the Montessori family too.

I cannot begin to tell you how touching it is for me to now go through all of her things and find that she dedicated so much time and space to conserving every drawing, every card and every picture of her beloved kiddos that she could. I have found binders and scrapbooks filled with childrens' artwork and photographs of her with them... I got the chance to watch all these memories build as they were happening, but had no idea she was tucking away these memories with such care... From as far back as 2013!

Rina was, is and always will be a sincere, generous and kind spirit, who just wanted to watch love conquer all. The love she had for and from all the children that crossed her path in the decade she spent dedicating herself to her vocation, only made her that much more magical.

This link was set up in order to help honor Rina's memory; from the various expenditures related to the loose ends left by her sudden and tragic passing.

It's hard enough to lose the half of your soul that made you want to be better everyday.... The last thing anyone should worry about are dollars in these times.

It is also very important for me to be able to get La Fondation Miss Rina set up in the 12 following months.

Please feel in no way obligated - but rest assured that all her life, she worked hard to give me and us all the best of herself and so, I will never stop honoring this beautiful wonder that is Rina. Every single contribution will serve to honor our wonderful Miss.

To all of you - I thank you all for the kindness you've shown Rina. I thank you for the concern you've shown for her. I thank you for the gratefulness you've shown her with all the cards and gifts over the years. I thank you for laughing with her, for supporting her and respecting her.

You truly made Rina's cloudy days better and I know that she will find the signs to tell you herself, in her cosmic ways - thank you

Kindest regards,

Nina Kandola