Today, BlackBerry announced it’s Build a Village Award Program for 2014. Some of you may remember this from years past where contestants will apply by submitting a video describing themselves and their ambition for the program. It’s a great opportunity for young students to experience the realities of the world by living the hardships and helping to improve them. In its fourth year, BlackBerry and Free The Children empower Canadian students to make a positive difference in the world through volunteer opportunities in Kenya and India. It’s good to know BlackBerry is still doing great things around the world, despite all the negative, and sometimes confusing, press that is circulating out there.
This award honors youth who are interested in learning more about the world and who want to make a positive difference in their community and in communities overseas.
Recipients of this award will travel overseas and:
- Meet and learn from the local elders and community leaders.
- Walk with the “mamas” to draw water.
- Help build a school or clean water project.
- Develop leadership and interpersonal skills.
- Bring the inspiration they will gain from this experience back to their Community.
A Me to We trip opens a world of learning, adventure and inspiration. Volunteers will work alongside local communities, develop friendships to last a lifetime, become immersed in new cultures and see fascinating places. Best of all, each trip supports community development through the work of Free The Children.
To apply, download the application form here and the reference form here.
To learn more about the program and to check for application details and eligibility requirements, visit Free The Children’s Build a Village Award Program website.
Here’s more from the Press Release:
Waterloo, ON – The BlackBerry Build A Village Award Program will be giving 50 remarkable students from across Canada the opportunity to embark on a life-defining experience as a volunteer in one of BlackBerry’s adopted villages in Kenya and India. Submissions for students between the ages of 14 and 18 for summer 2014 trips is now open. Between now and January 15th, 2014, students can submit their entry atwww.freethechildren.com/buildavillage. To be eligible for the Program, students will have to demonstrate passion, leadership qualities, traits of initiative, work ethic, empathy, maturity, contributions they have made to their local community and their desire for positive change.
The Program has already given 150 students from Waterloo region over the past three years the opportunity to travel to some of the world’s most impoverished villages to make a positive change – one brick at a time. In doing so, participating students not only made a difference in a community in need, but they were also empowered to make a difference in their own communities when they returned.
Canadian students have made significant impacts in the villages where they have volunteered; the Program has seen the successful construction and completion of classrooms in Eor Ewuaso, Kenya, and classrooms in Bagad, India, with classrooms to be built in Oloirion, Kenya and Veradera, India, for the 2014 Build a Village Award Program.
The multi-pronged Program has also contributed to sustainable community development initiatives in the adopted villages. They include healthcare services at school clinics, training programs for teachers, improving water and sanitation infrastructure – all the basic needs designed to eliminate the obstacles preventing children from pursuing education. The results have been tremendous, changing the lives of children and families considerably in both villages. These are just some of the impacts of the Program to date:
· Eor Ewuaso, Kenya: 39% reduction in dropout rate for girls’ completion of primary education and 43% increase in pre-school enrollment (2010-2012)
· Bagad, India: 5.7% increase in enrollment and 20% improved teacher to student ratio from 47:1 to 37:1 in one academic school year
For more information about the Build A Village Award Program please visit: www.freethechildren.com/buildavillage
About Free The Children
Free The Children is an international charity and educational partner. Founded in 1995 by international activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children believes in a world where young people are free to achieve their fullest potential, and empowers youth to remove barriers that prevent them from being active local and global citizens. The organization’s domestic programs – which include We Day, Free The Children’s signature youth empowerment event – educate, engage and empower 1.7 million young people across North America, the UK and around the world to become engaged global citizens. Its international projects have brought more than 650 schools and school rooms to youth and provided clean water and sanitation, health care and food security to 1 million people around the world, freeing children and their families from the cycle of poverty.
The organization has received the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non‐Governmental Organizations, and has formed successful
partnerships with leading school boards and Oprah’s Angel Network. For more information, visit
About BlackBerry
A global leader in wireless innovation, BlackBerry® revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999. Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: BBRY) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BB). For more information, visit www.blackberry.com.