WATERLOO, ON – Fifty Canadian teenagers are headed to Kenya and India this summer on a life-changing volunteer trip as part of BlackBerry's Build-A-Village program, a partnership with Free The Children.
Now in its third year, BlackBerry has partnered with Free The Children to send students to its Adopt a Village communities in Eor Ewuaso, Kenya and Bagad, India, giving the youth a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture, and gain hands-on experience with sustainable community development projects abroad.
For three weeks, students will embark on a variety of programs such as helping to build a school and planting trees. Students will also have the opportunity to learn from community leaders, participate in leadership development activities, and delve into daily discussions on tackling social issues.
The program's mission is to eliminate the obstacles preventing children from accessing education. The students will truly be immersed in the community, learning to speak the local language, as well as learning the culture, traditions, joys and daily challenges faced by the community.
“We are thrilled to work with such an innovative company like BlackBerry year after year to help inspire and make a positive impact in the lives of young people through international volunteer travel,” said Marc Kielburger, co-founder of Free The Children and Me to We, in a release.
“The opportunity to travel and volunteer across the globe is an incredible opportunity for young people to not only make a difference to a community in need, but also to learn about themselves and become empowered to help make a difference right in their own community when they return,” Kielburger said.
This year’s winners, 14 to 18-year-old students from the Waterloo region, were selected for their dynamism, passion, leadership qualities and the contributions they have made to their local community.
To date, 100 students have taken part in the BlackBerry Build-A-Village Award Program to build six classrooms in Eor Ewuaso, Kenya and three classrooms in Bagad, India, with two more additional classrooms to be completed this year.
BlackBerry will also be a key partner of Free The Children’s stadium-sized educational event We Day that will take place in major cities across Canada beginning this fall.
