Brenna's World of Opportunity

To my friends, my family, and my colleagues –

This holiday, I am asking you to support something I truly believe in. As many of you know, I returned to work at Engineers Without Borders this past summer after taking a 15 month break to pursue school. During my time at school, I spent a lot of time trying to decide on my next career move – where I would be challenged, have the chance to work with and learn from exceptional people, and finish each day proud of what I had contributed.

In the end, the answer was simple.

Now back at EWB, I am more confident than ever in our approach and impact. EWB is not about giving handouts or finding short-term fixes. Instead, it is about working in partnership with rural African communities and local organizations to develop long-term strategies. The aspect of our work that motivates me the most is in agriculture. Agriculture is the cornerstone of most African economies. But all too often, farmers struggle to access markets in which to sell their crops, leaving few possibilities to generate an income. EWB is focused on working with small-scale farmers to help them transition from farming for subsistence to farming as a business. This means building business and marketing skills among farmers and connecting them to local businesses – a combination that is helping farmers establish viable businesses from even the most humble plots of land.

When I visited Zambia 2 years ago, I saw just how much impact this approach is having. For many farmers, it means earning a steady income and, often for the first time, affording to send their kids to school.

This holiday season I am asking you to support this work. I promise that your donation—no matter how big or small—will have impact on the ground. I believe that we are a well-managed and extremely cost-conscious organization, and will generate exceptional value from whatever you can give.

I hope you will contribute to my campaign in support of EWB. We are aiming to expand significantly this year, doubling our capacity overseas and hiring another 5 or so staff in Canada. You can help make this possible.

Thank you for your support.
Brenna