World of Opportunity - Kyla

Hi everyone! –

This holiday season I am hoping you will choose to support the great work that EWB does overseas. EWB is a pretty big part of my life right now and I’m happy to be able to share some of what excites me about this organization.

From my experience in Ghana this summer with EWB and as part of the chapter at McMaster I've had a small taste of how the organization works. I've been pretty amazed by the innovative ways they push themselves and the rest of the "aid industry" to dig down and address the root causes of development issues.

One of the areas of EWB I find most interesting is called the Governance and Rural Infrastructure (GARI) team. This is the area I was working with this past summer while I was in a district government in Gushegu, Ghana. If you click on the video you’ll see a quick description of what the GARI team does and how they are improving planning and governance in rural Ghana.

Like in many areas of developing countries, across rural Ghana people have limited access to public services and infrastructure. There are not enough wells and hand pumps for clean water, only a few reliable roads to transport food, and minimal schools and teachers to secure a strong future. For the people in these communities the lack of infrastructure severely limits their potential. This is where EWB is trying to have an impact.

EWB is focused on addressing the root causes of widespread infrastructure failure by helping to develop the government’s capacity to plan these projects. They are also testing new approaches to improving leadership in local governments to ensure that infrastructure investments are made where they are needed most.

Right now EWB is seeking to increase its impact by doubling its volunteer capacity and flexibility to innovate. This will be made possible through the World Of Opportunity campaign. I am completely confident that donations to this campaign will be used effectively to help create change.

I hope you will choose to donate to EWB’s World of Opportunity campaign and help people in underdeveloped areas gain more of the opportunities they deserve.