2017 Awards

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2017 Awards List

Below is the list of GoMakeADifference‘s 2017 winners

GoMakeADifference has this year been expanded with a total of $30,000 being awarded to 30 UWC projects to go and make a difference immediately after they graduate.

2017 will see UWC students deliver community projects to make a difference in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Applications were received for the first time from UWC Waterford Khambhala, UWC Robert Bosch and UWC Changshu showing that GoMakeADifference is now reaching across the UWC movement.

Co-Founders Colin and Jill with Ann Goodwin, reviewing the 2017 applications.

There were a significant number of applications to choose from and deciding on which projects should be worthy of an award proved difficult. Applications were awarded on the originality of the project, the level of impact and sustainability they will have, the level of personal development and challenge for the students and their likelihood for success.

The founders, Colin Habgood and Jill Longson, were impressed, as Colin said, “Jill and I were moved by the diversity and quality of projects and the obvious commitment from students. We looked at all the applications in great detail before deciding which projects should be awarded. It is really humbling to see the ideas students have and their desire to go and make a difference. Whilst it is not possible for every application to be awarded a grant, we hope somehow that everyone who applied can use this process as a catalyst to deliver their projects in some way”.

In true UWC spirit, some projects were delivered by students coming together across more than one school/college.

2017-03-28-GoMAD02

Students from UWC Red Cross Nordic with their 2017 GoMakeADifference certificates.

  • "Solar Salone" led by Abubakarr Sidique Konneh from UWC LPC and Dominic Hindolo Said from UWC Mahindra seek to provide sustainable and reliable solar panels for school students affected by power shortage in Sierra Leone.
  • "I am Malawi" is a project giving youth access to information, internet services, promoting entrepreneurship and teaching skills such as sewing. The project will be delivered by Mungo Casper Ligoya from UWC Dilijan and MaBlda Mchazime from UWC Maastricht.
  • "Kenyan Youth for Peace" aims to help youth overcome violence in relation to elections and will be delivered by Nawal Abdulrahman Ali from UWC SEA and Shamim Mohamed from UWC Pearson College.
  • "Giving Back Strength" will be delivered by Hadjaratou Gado Alzouma from UWC Mostar and Abdoul Nasser Bounia Yahya from UWC USA, they will be working with women who suffer from obstetric fistula, how to sew and sell their products.

One project worthy of note for interest to potentially all UWC alumni and students is, “The Journey Much Desired” a planned autobiographic novel from John Michael Koffi a UWC Robert Bosch student. The novel follows John Michael’s refugee life in Malawi and later in Swaziland, focusing on the struggles of being a refugee youth with the constant disruption to education and friendships.

Successful students from Waterford Kamhlaba United World College receive their GoMakeADifference awards.

Special mention must go to Drishika Dugar and Elizabeth Dowell from UWC Atlantic College for their "E2" (Electronic Education) application. This project plans to install sustainable online libraries powered by solar panels in communities in Nepal that do not have access to books or internet, improving academic performance of the students. This project was perceived as the top application received this year achieving the highest marks against all the assessment criteria. As such, the students will be receiving a $1500 donation in recognition of this.

Everyone at GoMakeADifference looks forward to posting the reports from the successful applications as the projects are delivered and would like to thank everyone who applied and the local UWC co-ordinators who help with the application process.

Hopefully 2018 leavers can be inspired by these projects and can start to think about how they can make a difference in the near future!

— 2017 Awards (last updated: 10 November 2017, 12:24 am)
Project Title Project Leader(s) College(s) Project Location
Project Title: Veterans' Stories Documentation Project Leader(s): Brett Robert Fafata, Richard Cheung College: Li Po Chun UWC Project Location: Hong Kong SAR, China & Sapporo, Japan
Project Title: FAM (Fight Against Malaria) Project Leader(s): Taibatou Bintou Adamou Garba, Chung Cheuk Ying Audrey College: Li Po Chun UWC Project Location: BARA village, Niger
Project Title: Resettlement Support for North Korean Defectors Project Leader(s): Janice Lee, Shermaine Choi College: Li Po Chun UWC Project Location: Seoul, South Korea
Project Title: Sarawak Heart 2 Heart Entrepreneurship Project Leader(s): Muhammad Zakwan Bin Haji Mohtadza, Mohamad Irfan Bin Mohamad Azwardi College: UWC Atlantic College Project Location: MRSM Betong, Betong, Sarawak, Malaysia
Project Title: Solar Salone Project Leader(s): Abubakarr Sidique Konneh, Dominic Hindolo Said College: Li Po Chun UWC, UWC Mahindra College Project Location: Bo, Sierra Leone
Project Title: Joy In Action (Burkina Faso) Project Leader(s): Bamouni Landry Bertrand, Joseph Brew College: Li Po Chun UWC Project Location: Bondoukuy (Burkina Faso)
Project Title: Boldly Taking Action Project Leader(s): Desire Uwera, Ketsitseng Tsolo College: Waterford Kamhlaba UWC Project Location: Maseru, Lesotho
Project Title: Girl Empowerment Swaziland Project Leader(s): Stella Dlamini, Sitsandziwe Simelane College: Waterford Kamhlaba UWC Project Location: Swaziland
Project Title: Adriatic Aid - Reaching out to Kibera Project Leader(s): Ahmed Faiz Hassan Hussein, Anguyo Augustine Michael Modi College: UWC Adriatic Project Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Project Title: Inspiration for her Project Leader(s): Nelson McEwen, Hoody Abdul Ballah Kargbo College: UWC Maastricht Project Location: Sierra Leone
Project Title: Sustainable Itacaré Project Leader(s): Maria Eugenia Perera Visconti College: UWC South East Asia Project Location: Itacaré, Bahía, Brazil
Project Title: I am Malawi Project Leader(s): Mungo Casper Ligoya, Matilda Mchazime College: UWC Dilijan, UWC Maastricht Project Location: Malawi
Project Title: Save Village Teens Tororo Project Project Leader(s): Abbo Jackline, Mariasofia Zanoni College: UWC Atlantic College Project Location: Nyakesi A, Nyakesi Parish, Rubongi Sub-county, Tororo District
Project Title: Dreams and Inspirations Project Leader(s): Zharina Nikko Tomas Casil College: UWC Maastricht Project Location: Luzon and Visayas, Philippines
Project Title: The Color of Peace Project Leader(s): Ofelya Baghdasaryan, Silviya Hovnanyan College: UWC Dilijan Project Location: Ukraine
Project Title: Love and Care for Ignored Children Project Leader(s): Su Myat Noe College: UWC in Mostar Project Location: Myanmar
Project Title: Lasso Fyafulla Project Leader(s): Anita Tamang, Hari Bahadur Tamang College: UWC Mahindra College, UWC Red Cross Nordic Project Location: Nepal
Project Title: E² (Electronic Education) Project Leader(s): Drishika Dugar, Elizabeth Dowell College: UWC Atlantic College Project Location: Baglung District, Nepal
Project Title: Creating a Sustainable Naija Project Leader(s): Melie Ekunno College: UWC Adriatic Project Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Project Title: Kenyan Youth for Peace Project Leader(s): Nawal Abdulrahman Ali, Shamim Mohamed College: UWC South East Asia, Pearson College UWC Project Location: Nairobi
Project Title: Aagahi English Workshop Chupo Project Leader(s): Khuda, Siraj Yash College: UWC in Mostar Project Location: Chuporson, Gojal, Gilgit
Project Title: Give Back Strength Project Leader(s): Hadjaratou Gado Alzouma, Abdoul Nasser Bounia Yahya College: UWC in Mostar, UWC-USA Project Location: Niamey, Niger
Project Title: Harvest For Life Project Leader(s): Luis Antonio Cervera Bojorquez, Nalina Ali College: UWC Dilijan Project Location: Mérida, Yucatán, México
Project Title: The Triple R Project Project Leader(s): Gabrielle Branche, Judith Benk College: UWC Robert Bosch College Project Location: Trinidad and Tobago
Project Title: Book Book Tuk Tuk Project Project Leader(s): Socheat Pol, Mean Pring College: UWC Red Cross Nordic Project Location: Takhmau Town, Kandal Province, Cambodia
Project Title: The Journey Much Desired Project Leader(s): Koffi John Michael College: UWC Robert Bosch College Project Location: Germany
Project Title: Construction of a Greenhouse at “Pytoc – Chillaray” School Project Leader(s): Edson Cadenillas Ñaccha, Juana Nataly Melendez Martos College: UWC Red Cross Nordic Project Location: Ayarmaca, Pucyura, Anta, Cusco, Peru
Project Title: Wash4Peace Project Leader(s): Akomea Richard Owusu, Lamine Sega Male College: UWC Red Cross Nordic Project Location: Sakyikrom, Eastern Ghana
Project Title: Vijana Imara (Resilient Teenagers) Project Leader(s): Shamim Mohamed Ibrahim, Hannah Brendell College: Pearson College UWC Project Location: Mukangu, Kenya
Project Title: ASAP Mini-UWC Summer 2017 Project Leader(s): Huahao Zhou, Yuxiang Chen College: UWC Changshu China Project Location: Changshu, China
Testimonials

Photo of Umra Omar

I received a GoMAD grant for a HIV Youth Awareness Campaign in Nairobi back in 2002. Here I am now, founder of an organization that is riding on the same philosophy. I am so excited to honor Jill and Colin on the impact that they had in what I do now.

— Umra Omar (Founder/Director of Safari Doctors)