“WE Travel was something that several of my friends had experienced and described it as life changing. I decided to make a commitment to go and invited my 29-year-old daughter to join me. We had no idea that we were in for an adventure of a lifetime.”
Caroline LeBlanc MBA(FS) Class of 2007
Caroline LeBlanc MBA(FS) Class of 2007
Vice-President & Senior Private Banker, Bank of Montreal
WE Charity, formerly known as Free The Children, is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger.
WE is a movement that believes when we come together we can create an even better world. WE makes it easy for everyone to get involved, whether at home, school or work, by offering resources to help create positive social change in your community and around the world.
I first became aware of WE when BMO Hosted for some of the guest speakers for WE Day in Toronto. WE Day events host tens of thousands of students in various stadiums across the country and celebrate the impact they have made on local and global issues. WE focuses on 4 pillars: education, health, clean water and nutrition (Agriculture). These are all community lead programs with the elders in the communities.
WE Travel was something that several of my friends had experienced and described it as life changing. I decided to make a commitment to go and invited my 29-year-old daughter to join me. We had no idea that we were in for an adventure of a lifetime.
I’ve always been a supporter of lifelong learning and additionally education for women. I was looking forward to seeing what WE had developed in tandem with the community elders as they face challenges with traditional female education. Families are still required to pay for textbooks and uniforms for their children and often the distance to school exceeds several miles which makes access challenging. Additionally, when parents allow their children go to school they cannot contribute to the family’s income. Girls are expected to marry young and join their husband’s families with little opportunity to broaden their education.
“I’ve always been a supporter of lifelong learning and additionally education for women. I was looking forward to seeing what WE had developed in tandem with the community elders as they face challenges with traditional female education.”
Caroline LeBlanc MBA(FS) Class of 2007
Kisaruni Girls School
A few days into our trip we visited the girls at the Kisaruni Girls School. We were greeted by confident, articulate and poised women who took us by the hand and guided us to our seats where we sat side by side each one invading our personal space as they were so curious to have us answer their questions. They asked me how I chose my daughter’s path of study and they were surprised that she had done so herself. They knew that our Prime Minister was Justin Trudeau as his mother Margaret attended the opening of the WE College in July 2019. They knew that Canada has two official languages and were curious to know if other languages were spoken.
They expressed their desire to study tourism, engineering, and science. In addition to their parents choosing their study and career path, standardized testing is delivered on an annual basis. They only have once chance to perform well and gain entry into one of the few colleges in the Maasai Mara which gives young Maasai and Kipsigis women, and soon men, the chance to complete their education.
The girls live at the school given that the country is vast, and communities are often far from the school. You can immediately see how supportive the girls are of each other, wanting each other to be successful. They exude strength as a group and that success is defined as success of all students. The saying “It takes a village” has never been more evident. If anyone is struggling, they encircle that individual and find a way to support, teach, help the girl in need. It is a communal success that are striving for, not competitive and individual successes.
They told a story of one of the girls not returning to the school after a visit home and were concerned that her parents would have her married. They, along with the school representatives, were able to visit with her parents and have them better understand the benefit of education and how it could inherently benefit the family and their community.
While I have always valued both academic and experiential education it has never been so apparent to me that access to quality education is a fundamental key to a progressive society. The barriers to access that the girls in Africa have experienced appeared to be historically insurmountable however with assistance with a ”hand up” rather than a “hand out” the WE organization has been able to reach children that otherwise would not have received foundational skills. This experience made me think about the Canadian education system and all of the partners that are required to overcome barriers to access in Canada. These barriers may often be financial however basic programs such as breakfast programs, computer and technology equipment and special funding for extracurricular activities are integral to a successful holistic education. I am very grateful for a Canadian education system, even with barriers, continues to support education for each and every child.
While I have always valued both academic and experiential education it has never been so apparent to me that access to quality education is a fundamental key to a progressive society.
Caroline LeBlanc MBA(FS) Class of 2007