Jolien inspires to fundraise for street children!

Two years ago I had the chance to be in Ghana on an AFS program, during which I volunteered with Street Children Empowerment Foundation (SCEF) in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana. As a volunteer I was able to closely experience how SCEF impacts many street children’s lives, working on SCEF’s mission together with the whole team. I believe schooling and play-based learning activities (such as reading and stimulating creativity) are key to prepare children for their adult lives, allowing them to become self-providing and break the circle of poverty.

Guiding children towards a better future and seeing the smiles on their faces with every small achievement is what inspired me to fundraise for SCEF! My family is very enthusiastic about organizing fundraising too. Our first fundraising activitiy was a walk: my father and brother walked to a town called Scherpenheuvel (Belgium) and people sponsored them for this. At the same time my mother and I went around in the streets of Scherpenheuvel, walking up to people to tell them about SCEF’s work and selling biscuits and toffees for donations. The next day we also organized an event in our garden where people came to buy various little things to help raise funds. We had not only a variety of foods and drinks on offer, but also bookmarkers (handmade by my mother) and necklaces (handmade by my grandfather).

On New Year’s Eve we organized another fundraising activity: my friend Hannah and I did what children in my town would usually do that day, i.e. go from door to door to sing songs wishing everyone a Happy New Year. We took this opportunity to also tell people about SCEF’s work and receive cash donations.

With all of our fundraising efforts we managed to create a lot of awareness about SCEF in my town, up to the point where some people even spontaneously walked up to us to offer extra financial support. In total we managed to get no less than €1225 to support the work of SCEF.

It was very hard to decide how to use the money we raised, since the children SCEF works with have a lot of needs. SCEF needs funds for a lot of different things and unfortunately it is not always easy to find enough sponsors and donors for everything. I am confident that the money raised will be spent in the best possible way to support the street children of Jamestown and I truly hope that more people get inspired to organize fundraising activities, become godparents, support with a one-time donation or help in any other way.

I also want to say a big thank you to my family, friends, neighbors and everyone who made it possible to make this come true!

Jolien Michiels

Check out the SCEF website if YOU would like to volunteer for SCEF in Ghana or help to fundraise for SCEF. We will be happy to welcome and support you!