A massive thanks to Mari, who is a year 12 student at the Samford Valley Steiner School. Last week Mari raised over $800 through the school canteen to go towards our projects in the Afar region of Ethiopia. It is so wonderful to see young people who are putting their focus and energy into their greater community. Please read her message below.
"Coming from Brazil, I have always been so close to poverty and people who would need a lot more than me, not only material things , but they would also need my love and compassion. My family has always helped lots of communities, by donating clothes, going to different orphanages and retirement communities on Christmas , Easter and several occasions, to play games, make them feasts and to make sure that they would know that there are people out there willing to improving their living conditions and offer them the opportunity of a comfortable and stable life. This year I had the opportunity to choose a project which I would be running for the entire year, we were supposed to choose something we are passionate about. So I decided to choose something that is close to home, I chose to run the high school cafe at my school to fundraise to donate to an organisation. I chose to donate 100% of my cafe profits to something I believe in. I kept motivating myself by remembering that I want to make a difference in someone else's life . I couldn't ask for anything else in my life, I have shelter, food, education and much more than I need, so it is time to help the less fortunate, it is time to make a difference and change people's life. I proudly support Barefoot Initiative as I believe in their work and their good will. "