Thank You for a Successful 2019!

Hello Echoers!

Thank you all for your support in 2019. Because of you we have FOUR big accomplishments to celebrate from 2019!

1) We were able to cover the balance of rent owed to the landlord for the previous Women in Action location.

2) We were able to relocate the primary Women in Action location in Freetown to a new building where the staff have a better relationship with the building landlord.

3) We raised enough to cover the rent on the new location which covers us for another school season until this coming Summer 2020

4) Esther opened up the second location for Women in Action to reach rural students in the city of Port Loko!

Remember! there are still a few hours left in 2020 and so we would still appreciate any more contributions you’re willing to give as we close out 2019

On behalf of Esther and the staff and students of the Women in Action Vocational Training Centre(S) (PLURAL!), and of course from us at Esther’s Echo as well, thank you all so very much to those of you who donated on our website, on Facebook, and helped spread the word about Esther’s work in Sierra Leone. Wishing you an incredible and happy 2020!!

-Matthew

Donate for 2019!

Esther (third from right) with the Staff at the new Woman in Action Port Loko location

Students at the Rural Port Loko location

Students at the new Freetown location

Students at the new Freetown location

A Video From Matthew on Giving Tuesday 2019

It's Giving Tuesday! Thank you all for your support so far! Between our donations through the website and on Facebook, we've raised about 800 dollars. We're aiming for $2000 for the giving season to shore up the rest of what we need this year. Anything above that will go toward 2020!

As always, thank you for any consideration of Esther's Echo and Esther's school, the Women in Action Development Project...which is now Projects plural!

Women's Education and Climate Change

Did you know that supporting women’s and girl’s education has a direct impact on reducing carbon emissions?

Project Drawdown is a research organization that has worked to identify the most impactful solutions to climate change. Number 6 on that list is the education of women and girls. Project Drawdown explains that “Women with more education have fewer healthier children”, and, with more education, women “can be more effective stewards of food, soil, trees, and water.” The overall impact? A potential reduction in carbon of 51.5 gigatons by 2050 if all young women and girls had access to education which falls just behind protection of tropical rainforests.

Project Drawdown Solutions by Rank drawdown.org/solutions

Over and over again, research shows that investing in education is one of the closest solutions to a “silver bullet” in the eradication of poverty around the world. Education is also vital in the fight against the climate crisis. This past September, I marched alongside over 100,000 people in the Vancouver Climate Strike. (My sign was a play on my astronomy work. That’s me seated at the Trottier Observatory at Simon Fraser University) I am proud that our work with Esther’s Echo can have a direct role to play in the reduction of carbon emissions. The planet, and the health of our societies, are symbiotically connected. Healthier, equitable, poverty free societies, are also societies that care for the planet. So remember that this Giving Tuesday and Holiday Season your contributions are not only supporting individual women and girls at Esther Kanu’s Women in Action Development Project, but the health of our planet as a whole.

-Matthew

My sign at the Vancouver Climate March

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Giving Tuesday 2019!

Hello Echoers!

Giving Tuesday is coming up on December 3rd. Over the last few years, we have really benefited from the generosity that you’ve all shown during the Holiday giving season. Giving Tuesday Canada is part of a global movement for giving that follows Black Friday each year. It’s a day for organizations to rally their Holiday Season donations. For the last two years, Esther’s Echo has joined a community of non-profit organizations based out of Vancouver for a campaign called #VanGives. Be sure to visit the Esther’s Echo Giving Tuesday Campaign Page!

Esther’s Echo Profile Page on Giving Tuesday Canada Site

We’re getting the word out now in anticipation of this upcoming Giving Tuesday which has been our biggest fundraising day of the year in the past. Giving Tuesday serves as a great way for us to not only catch up on fundraising for the current year, but also get a head start on fundraising for next year. Here are some things that we are fundraising for:

Opening of the Second Location:

As mentioned in last month’s blog post, Esther has started a second location! Because we are renting the location part time from another non-profit using the building, the rent on this new location is quite low compared to the main site which gave Esther a foothold into the rural region of Port Loko. The new site provides access to young women and girls who wouldn’t otherwise be able to make it all the way to Freetown. The site also came with a supply of computers that are available to Esther to use.

Operation Costs on the Original Location

Each year we help offset the costs for the Women in Action Development Project. This ensures that funds raised by the organization itself can go to upgrades, teacher’s salaries, and reducing student fees at the school. Our biggest expense each year is rent on the building. For the last several years, we have also been putting aside amounts of what we fundraise to help open a new school that belongs to Women in Action to help offset rent entirely.

Thank you all so much again for your support this year. You all helped another cohort of students graduate from the Women in Action Development Project. Since our founding in 2012, we have seen over 350 students graduate from Women in Action. YOU made this happen! Let’s get 2020 off to a strong start. Keep an eye out for our campaigns on Facebook too and be sure to check out the Giving Tuesday campaign video below.

-Matthew

Donate to Giving Tuesday Campaign