Rosie Coleman
Fundraising for ICS Challenges Worldwide - Team Leader in Rwanda
Fundraising for Challenges Worldwide
Story
This June I will be heading out to Rwanda to head up a team of volunteers for a wonderful charity called Challenges Worldwide. To ensure opportunities like mine remain open to young people of all backgrounds in the future, I am aiming to raise £800 to support the fantastic work Challenges does across the continent.
What are we doing to raise this money?
Because my brilliant friend Kate and I haven't really run since we 16, and because we felt inspired by watching our friends do the marathon this month, we've stupidly given ourselves just 3 weeks to get into shape for the Queen Elizabeth Park Run on May 14th.
And, as if 5km each wasn't enough for two non-runners with no time to train, we're willing to put ourselves through much more pain if we raise £300 in sponsorship before we hit the starting line. So throw in your pennies and we'll double the distance!
Why are we doing it?
Operating across four African countries (Ghana, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda), Challenges Worldwide pair young Brits with young locals, guide volunteers through an intensive business training programme and embed them into a small enterprise to provide free consultancy advice and an extra pair of hands. It's a brilliant way of simultaneously upskilling young volunteers and helping to build sustainable enterprises in some of the world's poorest communities.
Doesn't this all sound kind of familiar?
Many of you will know that I worked with Challenges last year, volunteering my business experience in a fast-growing fashion enterprise in Ghana. Many of you also very kindly supported me with my last fundraising efforts. As a result of your generosity, my work in Ghana helped increase my enterprises' monthly profits by 75% within 12 weeks. Crucially as a result of our business development work, the enterprise was also able to move to a new store on the main high street and hire new members of staff. Challenges Worldwide's work is similar across all four countries and it's this kind of impact that I hope to inspire the June volunteers to achieve when I'm a Team Leader in Rwanda.
How do your donations help?
Challenges' overseas projects help local people in a number of ways. Here's some examples:
- Grow monthly business profits by increasing the amount of activity generated by enterprises each month: many hands makes light work
- Increase knowledge of basic business skills amongst communities who may have no/little formal educational background to keep the businesses growing long after the volunteers leave
- Connect enterprises together by building networks amongst volunteers and enterprise owners, increasing the likelihood of new trade links, supplier relations and even long term financial investment
- Make local businessmen aware of the environmental and social impacts of their business and help build sustainable future plans to limit negative impacts
- Provide free business and professional development to young Rwandan volunteers, helping them stand out from the crowd in a climate of high unemployment rates