On Fighting Poverty...

Back in the fall of 2010, I had the honour of meeting Mr. Gem Munro, co-founder of the Amarok Society ( http://amaroksociety.org/wordpress/ ), while he was promoting his organization by selling his latest book at a local bookstore. Mr. Munro had a positive and lasting impression on me. While keeping the wellbeing of their family of four children at the centre of their preoccupations, Mr. Munro and his wife Dr Tanyss Munro ''selfishlessly'' moved their family to the slums of Dhaka Bangladesh to go empower the poorest of the poor: teaching women who in turn would transmit their newly acquired knowledge to the children around them. The Munro children grew up imbibing a social conscience and responsibility and are now very involved with the Amarok Society and its operations.

Fighting poverty through education is no new concept and has in fact been discussed by many scholars. It is a well established fact that poverty and lack of education are inevitably linked in a vicious circle: one living in poverty will be forced to work instead of going to school, being left without the literacy and numeracy skills needed to pursue a career. To this simple explanation can be added cultural and political elements that can be debated or challenged less efficiently with less education.

In this era of globalization, we must wonder why something we so take for granted, the accessibility and the right to education is still so difficult to access in some parts of the planet.

Paying it Forward is the motto of our not for profit organization, Twins for Hope. Since its creation in 2016, we have been concentrating our efforts in Vietnam through various missions supporting vulnerable children. In early 2018 we were presented the opportunity to work with partners to improve the learning conditions for 50 children in Binh Thuan province, south of the country: the total cost of the project covered by Twins for Hope is $15,000 CAD ($11,500 USD).

I can testify that fundraising has never been for the faint of heart. It has involved countless hours of ''professional begging'' on my part and several days away from my family to attend craft fairs and events: focusing on the needs of others in dire situations keeps me afloat and energized, and less self-self-centered. And when helped by my solid team of volunteers, it makes it all better!

I will be leaving for Vietnam in a few weeks to go attend the opening ceremony of our school. I still have to pinch myself as this is all too unreal.

We have raised so far close to $3000. $12,000 are still needed to meet our goal.

For further details on the project, please follow one of the two links below: please share and consider making a donation. Every dollar goes far in fighting poverty through education: there is no better investment.

Thank you,

Johanne Wagner

https://fundrazr.com/frombambootobrick?ref=ab_37HsL8

https://www.gofundme.com/manage/from-bamboo-to-brick-a-new-school