Excitement Exceeds Expectations!

Hey all,
Again, sorry for the break in communication. You can definitely tell you're in the right field of work when there's SO much work to be done that there's barely enough time to write aobut the work that's getting done. Our first volunteer, Haley Howe, left Sierra Leone on July 3rd (a week ago from yesterday). To be honest, it was so refreshing and wonderful to have her to work with for a month - her heart for the work, her commitment to get involved in the community, and her desire to help impact as much change as she could truly exceeded all my expectations. It was a real blessing to have a friend and volunteer for a month who could view the Foundation from another angle, be critical of some things that need to be altered, and also offer encouragement and advice into where things are going well. Haley kept saying that she didn't know why the community was thanking her, because she didn't feel like she had done anything - but to be honest, just living in this community for a month, understanding their struggles and issues, and taking the time to get to know them beyond just a first name basis is a huge commitment and a huge part of the work that needs to be done here. Without taking the time to build these community relationships, what we do with the Foundation would be impossible.

So while I was sad to see Haley go, I am thrilled to announce that tomorrow one of our staff members, our program manager Fakulie Jawara, will be arriving in Sierra Leone tomorrow along with two new volunteers from South Korea. We are overwhlemingly blessed with volunteers and contributors this year, a blessing which I hope continues on into the future! Fakulie is a native Sierra Leonean who has gone overseas to complete his Masters' Degree and in 2010 contacted me because he was interested in working for the Foundation. He is really passionate about giving back to youth within his own community and making sure they know their own value and worth, and it's amazing to have someone on our team who has all the local knowledge, experience, and background. Fakulie also designed our offical website earlier this year so you can see his talents have already been put to great use! I will be travelling back to Freetown tomorrow to pick him up along with our two South Korean volunteers, and hopefully we will be back in Kabala by Wednesday.

In other exciting news, we have received all the applications for the scholarships this year. We will be interviewing the 4 past candidates for a potential renewal of their scholarships, interviewing between 6 and 8 candidates for a new full $1000 per year scholarship, and also, interviewing between 4 and 6 candidates for our brand new partial scholarship program which we decided to introduce this year, which is a $500 scholarship for one year for students who have already started attending college but ran out of funds. It's great to see the organization developing and see the many ways in which we can constantly slightly adapt and change our plans to fit the need and what the youth here are longing for so that they can acheive the dreams of their life. This year is going to be a difficult year, as we have had over 25 applicants for the scholarships, and we are going to have to shortlist those that we want to interview by the end of this week. Our scholarship interviews will be taking place next week, from July 18-20, so please keep us in your thoughts and minds and prayers! It is certain to be a difficult time of decision making, as all the youth here are passionate and wonderful individuals, but I am also certain that we will be able to pick the ones who are the most qualified and most in need of the scholarships this year. If the interviews prove to be even half as encouraging and uplifting as last year, I'm sure I will leave next week with a new lease on life and a new passion for this work! So as you can see, my lack of frequent blog posts is not due to a lack of excitement - I am overwhelmed by HOW much there is to do in so little time! It simply blows my mind that in only one year this program could be so accepted and so supported by the community - I am so grateful for the way the people here have invested their hearts and souls into it, and I am ever encouraged to keep fundraising and fighting the good fight when I see the youth recognizing their value and unique ability to change their world. We will be awarding the scholarships this year on July 31st, and we are planning to hold a big ceremony for the whole community, not just the church, in the Kabala Community Centre. So stay tuned, exciting and busy times lie ahead! -Krissi Bucholtz, Director