To Christina Bucholtz, the country of Sierra Leone is not so different from her hometown of Cloverdale.
鈥淪ierra Leone reminds me a lot of B.C., in that they have the mountains and the ocean right beside each other which is so unique. A lot of times when I鈥檓 on the beach there I feel like I鈥檓 in B.C., minus the 30 degree temperature difference,鈥� she continued, laughing.
Bucholtz now lives in Sierra Leone year-round, teaching at an international school in Freetown and volunteering her evenings and weekends at the , a community-based organization she founded in 2009.
Her passion for Sierra Leone鈥檚 youth, and for education, began when she first visited the country as part of a program at Surrey Christian School during her senior year of high school.
With two other students and three teachers, she spent a month volunteering at a school in the town of Kabala.
The experience changed her life.
鈥淚 was really touched by how full the community was,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t shook all the assumptions that I had about life.鈥�
It challenged her perception that she hadn鈥檛 had a lot growing up. 鈥淚 think most of us living in this part of the world have quite a lot, but we don鈥檛 fully understand how blessed we are to have the things that we have,鈥� she explained.
Volunteering as a student teacher also awakened a passion for education 鈥� one that she hadn鈥檛 had before. During the trip she decided to pursue a teaching degree and to one day work as a teacher in Sierra Leone.
She returned to Kabala during the summer a year later as a volunteer with a non-profit organization. There she made friends who wanted the chance to attend university, but weren鈥檛 able to because of the cost.
鈥淚t turned out it would only be $1,000 a year for them to go to school, and that includes their tuition, their books, their accommodation, everything,鈥� she said.
Bucholtz was studying at Capiliano University at the time, and paying Canadian university fees, which are on average $6,500 a year in tuition alone.
鈥淚 knew I could make a difference,鈥� said Bucholtz. She founded the People鈥檚 Foundation of Sierra Leone with the goal of providing scholarships to youth. In its first year, the foundation gave four students $1,000 scholarships.
Since then, the foundation has grown in scope and size. In 2017, it awarded 18 students scholarships, raising close to $40,000. And, as Bucholtz explains, 鈥淲e now work with over 300 youth across the country, running youth empowerment programs. Youth meet together in different areas of the country and they discuss issues like sexual abuse, STDs, and disease prevention鈥� we did a lot of work during the ebola outbreak about sensitizing communities on what ebola looks like, how to avoid it and things like that.鈥�
The organization has seven branches in Sierra Leone, based in Freetown, Makeni, Bo, Waterloo, Kabala, Kenema and Port Loko. Besides the original branch in Kabala, where it has a donated office, each branch operates in the community under the leadership of a youth who has participated in the foundation in the past.
鈥淪ome of the youth from the [Kabala] branch, when they moved to a new city to go to school 鈥� there are no universities in Kabala 鈥� they would ask if they could start a new branch,鈥� said Bucholtz.
Bucholtz would then go and assist the youth, and give them mentoring manuals that cover everything from waste management to HIV/AIDS to sexual abuse.
The youth then choose community projects and begin to work in the town and surrounding area.
鈥淚n that way, I think it鈥檚 really special,鈥� said Bucholtz. 鈥淚t鈥檚 their project. It鈥檚 not me going in and saying you need to do this, this, this. The youth form a group, decide what the needs are in their community and then find ways to meet those needs.鈥�
The university scholarships helps Sierra Leone youth overcome the financial obstacle between them and a post-secondary education, but the foundation offers youth much more, said Bucholtz.
Another obstacle between youth and an education, she explained, was 鈥渢he lack of people believing in you.鈥�
鈥淕rowing up [in Cloverdale], I always had someone believing in me, whether it was my boss or my principal, my teachers at school, my parents and grandparent, someone always told me I could be anything I wanted to be 鈥� whether that be a teacher, lawyer, president or doctor. I think a lot of people [in the program] don鈥檛 have somebody supporting them like that.
鈥淲e try to be that support system. Even if we can鈥檛 sponsor every student, we can support them in some way,鈥� she said.
The People鈥檚 Foundation is run entirely by volunteers; the only administration fees that it has is its charitable registration fees and stamps (so it can mail out tax receipts for donations).
鈥淭hat way we can ensure that all of the money we raise goes towards the students who really need it,鈥� said Bucholtz.
The Cloverdale Reporter caught up with Bucholtz as she was in town to visit family for the holidays this week. She is also organizing the People鈥檚 Foundation of Sierra Leone鈥檚 first-annual fundraising gala which will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Burnaby Mountain Clubhouse. Her hope is that funds raised from the gala will help the foundation help even more youth go to university next year in Sierra Leone.
Port Coquitlam mayor Greg Moore, BC Lions coach Mark Washington and Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, International African Woman of the Year, will speak at the event, which will include a silent auction and a catered dinner. Tickets are $75. For more information on the event, visit .
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
