2020 Challenge Winners

Education4Her - in partnership with ISEE Solutions

Congratulations to this year’s winners of our top prize of $5000 sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kelowna. These 4 young women are fighting for the opportunities of young girls in Uganda. By partnering with their former elementary school teacher and founder of ISEE Solutions, Bianca, Zahara, Isabel and Anna, grade 9 students at Dr. Knox Middle School, have found a way to impact Global Goals #4 and #5 among others. They learned that many girls in poor countries miss school and eventually drop out because they don’t have access to proper tools when they get their period, forcing them to stay home from classes. Shocked that this was even an issue, these young women have been learning about the problem and how they can help support the work of the locally based NGO. They are directly involved in the making of the reusable hygiene kits that the NGO takes to Uganda every year. Regular sewing workshops take place here in Kelowna and part of the teams $5000 prize money will be used to take the kits to the girls in need. The kits can be reused for up to 3 years if properly taken care of ensuring fewer missed education opportunities and preventing “period poverty”. Along with providing kits, the NGO educates girls and other local stakeholders in the importance of supporting girls during this time of the month and the benefits of keeping girls in school, thereby breaking old beliefs and empowering women in the community. The additional twist of their project is that they will pay to set up a workspace and train 4 local Ugandan women on how to make key components of the kits themselves. This will provide them with skills and the opportunity to have their own business as well as making the kits locally available. This team is the youngest to win the Challenge and they are committed to spreading the word on this issue and bringing real impact to the girls ISEE solution serves in Uganda. Check them out on Instagram

Garden of Knowledge - in partnership with Provision of Hope

Students in Immaculata’s Social Justice class met Karen Barkman, the founder of Provision of Hope and were instantly inspired by her work in Monrovia, Liberia. Thanks to Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association for funding the $1500 prize so Ashleigh, Nina and Joshua could fund “Garden of Knowledge”, a project targeting 10 of the Global Goals, but focusing on Goal #3 Good Health and well being. By planning and supporting a 2 acre vegetable garden which will not only provide nutritional food for the community, educate them on which foods to grow for maximum nutrition the garden, provide extra income with surplus food and teach better farming practises, it will also provide a source of income for locals. The team learned about “Hidden Hunger” a problem where lack of education, rather than resources, keeps families in a nutritional void. Although food can be grown there with good farming techniques, it is important to learn which foods produce the most life saving nutrition. Collaborating with the locally trained farm lead, they were able to learn first hand the needs of the community. The team’s excellent research also taught them the unique political situation in Liberia that creates challenges for these communities. This team also learned about the importance of Goal #17- Partnership with the Goals, when they recognized the importance of working with another NGO-Thrive. Thrive empowers people with the training and simple tools they need to grow an abundance of healthy, organic, disease-fighting foods for life — sustainably. Their lead farmer, Kelvin Taweh trained with Thrive to learn sustainable practises in agriculture to combat Hidden hunger and with his education, he will lead the project in Monrovia. Although the team did not secure all of the funds needed, they are committed to completing their project. Please see their Facebook page, and check them out on Instagram. You can donate to them through their GoFund Me page as well.

Hands 4 Homeless - in partnership with Metro Community

When Dr. Knox students Amelie, Isla, Rachel, Jocelyn, Tenny and Brooklyn learned about the situation in their city regarding people experiencing homelessness in the winter of 2019, they came together to find out how they could have an impact on creating solutions. Focusing on Global Goal #11 Sustainable Communities, they partnered with Metro Community, a local organization “that is committed to working alongside the City of Kelowna and numerous other agencies, in a collaborative process called ‘Journey Home’. They seek to house vulnerable members of our community as a matter of priority and surround them with support services, to help them ensure success.” This team of committed and passionate youth engaged with many local organizations to build a human centred approach to breaking down the barriers in the community between the most vulnerable and the average members of society. Inspired by the film Ending Us and Them, which highlighted the value of one on one human connection and compassion, the team devised a plan to create a sponsorship program similar to World Vision whereby one community member would ‘sponsor’ one person experiencing homelessness. They would get to meet each other, share some time together at Metro cafe, and the sponsor would be able to provide basic support through a monthly donation. The team planned to create a pilot project with 6 matches. The hope was that this one on one personal connection would break down the barriers and people would be able to connect on a human level with shared experiences, thereby increasing dignity and self worth within the homeless population. Although the logistics of this project were difficult, the team reached out to local experts to try and understand the best way to create this connection. They required that the person experiencing homelessness would complete 5 hours of volunteer service in the community to feel connected and the team found several organizations willing to take part in facilitating this. Although the team was unable to fund their entire project, they are filled with a new sense of compassion from completing this Challenge. As a group they were able to volunteer at Metro Cafe and engage with the community there. They overcame their own fear and misunderstanding to serve and befriend members of the homeless community that will leave a lasting impression on them. Special thanks to Sheldon and Shauna Gardiner for donating $1000 so the team could fund the renovation of “The Connect Room”, a place within Metro where they hope the community can come together and spend time getting to know and understand each other. See their Instagram here.

2020 Plan B Video Competition Winner “The Power of Educating a Girl”