Trevor's World of Opportunity

With the Chalema family, in Chandiwe, Malawi

My dear friends and family–

This year I am helping Engineers Without Borders build a World of Opportunity for rural Africans.

In 2007 and 2008 I lived in Zambia/Malawi, working with the Engineers Without Borders Water and Sanitation team. I have been back in Canada for nearly a year now, yet the realities of life for my Zambian and Malawian friends and family are no less dear to me.

Clean water is an essential part of life, and its absence creates a HUGE barrier to opportunity.

Very clear in my mind is the week I spent living with the Chalema family in rural Malawi (pictured above). The Chalema's water came from a shallow, open well, and was far from clean. Similarly, at my own village house in Zambia, we gathered our water from an unclean well, causing frequent diarrhoea, dysentery, and other water related illnesses. This lack of access to clean water traps those affected in a needless cycle of sickness and poverty, denying them the opportunities that we are so fortunate to have.

My EWB colleagues in Malawi are working alongside their Malawian counterparts on innovative and exciting ways to ensure that families like the Chalemas can access clean water, and break out of that cycle to live lives of opportunity. You can learn more about their work by watching the video above.

I truly believe that the work EWB is doing, both in Africa and in Canada, is helping to create a world of opportunity for the next generation of Africans.

This is something I have been working passionately towards. My dream and desire is that in the very near future, a girl born in Zambia or Malawi will have the same opportunities as a girl born in Canada.

I ask for your support as we work to realize this dream.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions, or would like to hear more about my story and my passion. I would thrilled to share with you.

Much love, and many thanks,

Trevor