Days left to Save Esther's School

Dear Echoers!

April has passed and Esther's landlord is starting to really put the pressure on. Within days, he may decide to evict the Women in Action Development Project, Esther's school. But here's the incredible news on what we've accomplished so far.

We've hit the $4000K mark! In two weeks that is amazing! Combined with Esther's savings in country, that puts us at just under $6K, about enough to cover one year of rent on Esther's building. The land lord was hoping for 2 (but pushing for 5). I have now connected with the landlord directly over the phone. He is also based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. My plan is to negotiate with him to determine what we can do if funding come up short of the 2 years and to look toward buying his building outright in the future. I will keep everybody posted on how this goes. 

After our initial round of e-mails to friends and family, we had an initial influx of donations including one $1000 contribution from the students and staff at Mulgrave School in West Vancouver. A HUGE thanks to Tony Wilson and the students of the "Action for Esther" campaign for their support. Your donation within days of us beginning this campaign was wind in our sails!

Last week, I received word that the Chronicle Journal Newspaper in Thunder Bay, Ontario (my home town) ran our fundraising letter reaching the entire North Western Ontario community. This week, as a result of the article, we received a series of donations in the mail across the whole region from Slate River, to Thunder Bay, to Nipigon. Know that a school in West Africa is very grateful to you and so are we!

My TEDx talk from University of Toronto Scarborough, which incorporates a story about Esther and her work, went live this week! It has had nearly 350 views already sharing the news about our project overseas with online viewers. If you haven't had the chance to check it out yet, please do so!

I am aware of a few more fundraisers going on out there! Thank you for reaching out to us and running an event in your community, we are going to be looking to send funds out by early next week, so anything that comes through by Monday will go in the first wire transfer over to Women in Action! Thank you all so much for your support!

Sincerely, 

Matthew Cimone - Founder/CEO

Donate Now to Help Save Women in Action

PS, got some new photos from Esther at school celebrations for the end of semester graduation they had recently. 

Students and Staff at Women in Action: Esther is at the centre of photo in pink

A passionate valedictorian speech

Children in Esther's "Kiddies Foundation" child education program. These children are from a neighbouring slum region of the city that Esther is seeking to empower

TEDx Talk by Founder/CEO Matthew Cimone

Dear Echoers,

Founder Matthew Cimone gave a presentation this past February at TEDxUTSC (University of Toronto Scarborough). In the presentation, Matthew explains how his passion for space and astronomy inspired his charity work in West Africa. Esther features prominently in this discussion using the diamonds of Sierra Leone as a call to treasure the value of life from a cosmic perspective. 

Remember that our April fundraising campaign is still on! Esther's school is in danger of being closed due to a shortfall in rent! Help support this incredible initiative by clicking the link below

Help Save the Women in Action Development Project

Help Us Secure a Home for Women in Action

Hello Echoers

The last few weeks have been challenging. 

Esther contacted us recently to let us know that their school is in jeopardy. 

Recently, the landlord that owns the building Women in Action is housed in passed away. Her son has taken over the building. As a result, rent rates on the building have increased dramatically in a short time. While the prices the new landlord is charging are still within market rates, the previous landlord was providing a discounted rate. This increase has created a shortfall in Esther's budget. 

The budget shortfall means that it is possible Esther, and the Women in Action, might be forced from the building. That could mean a huge disruption to the girls currently enrolled at the school at best and permanent closure of the school at worst. 

We are trying to raise enough funds to help Esther cover the rent on the building for the next two years. That is about $10,000. In combination with Esther's efforts abroad, we have raised about $4,000 already thanks to some incredible contributions. We have been sending out letters to everybody we know, friends have volunteered their time to help us with postering and advertising, we event setup a donation box at Simon Fraser University's dining hall to collect change. 

Esther's Echo Donation Box at Simon Fraser University's Dining Hall

But we need to make up the rest and we need to do so quite quickly. We would love your support in helping to keep this incredible project and Esther's vision for community change alive. You can help make this happen by making a donation today. 100% of every dollar we receive goes directly to Esther as we are small enough to operate without taking any funds for overhead expenses. Furthermore, I have personally committed $1000 to the cause to help catalyze funds. 

The donation letter that we sent out to friends and family has also been posted in Thunder Bay's Chronicle Journal newspaper which is my home town. You can read the article by clicking on this link

Thank you for your consideration! Take action by clicking the donation link below!

-Sincerely

Matthew Cimone Founder/CEO

Take Action to Save Esther's School

Esther Kanu, Founder of Women in Action 

International Women's Day!

Hey Echoers,

Happy International Women's Day 2014!

International Women's Day has now been observed for over a hundred years! And despite that, women still bear the heaviest burdens of war and poverty across the globe. 

In the face of these challenges, efforts under the banner of IWD have started to make a huge impact. Annually on March 8th, thousands of events happen across the world through various organizations, community groups, and IWD is now officially recognized as an official Holiday in many nations from Afghanistan and China to Moldova and Uganda. 

We wanted to tap into that global effort by sharing Esther's work with the IWD community. We have setup a community page on the IWD website today that you can find at www.internationalwomensday.com/esthersecho The page outlines my history of meeting Esther and her efforts in forming the Women in Action Development project that Esther's Echo supports. 

This year's theme is "Inspiring Change." What a perfect theme to highlight Esther's work abroad having now educated nearly 2000 young women in Sierra Leone to provide them with a hopeful future in the midst of one of the most challenging places in the world to live. Help us help Esther "Inspiring Change" by donating to Esther's project. 100% of your donation goes directly to Esther and her cause. 

You can also read more about the history of International Women's Day here.

Inspire Change on International Women's Day

Happy Women in Action Day!

Happy Women in Action Day! 

18 years ago today, Esther Kanu founded the Women in Action Development Project in Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

During the day today, Esther, and the staff of the school, celebrated the anniversary of the school with the students and surrounding community. Because of Esther's efforts, and the dedicated staff and alumni of Women in Action, nearly a thousand young women and girls have received skills training which has helped them to start businesses, find employment and go on to post-secondary education in one of the most economically challenged regions of the world. 

We are asking you to help show your support for the school by making a contribution to the project. In the spirit of Valentine's day, why not give a gift to those who are showing love not just to an individual, but an entire community! 

To learn more about Esther and the Women in Action Development Project, click here. 

Donate Today!

Esther Kanu, Founder of Women in Action