GoMakeADifference announces 2020 awards
GoMakeADifference are pleased to confirm we received 62 applications from schools and colleges across the UWC organisation this year. Timing for submitting applications was very difficult for some students this year especially with the problems related to the Coronavirus and school closures - we wish everyone concerned all the best and hope it’s not long before colleges re-open.
The task of assessing the projects is hard each year. Most students had taken time to submit well-thought through, innovative project plans and some sent in video links where their passion for making a difference really came across, it was great to see.
Jill Longson (AC’81) co-founder commented, “We were delighted with the creative ideas and project plans we received from students this year, it is amazing and very humbling to see how they want to make a difference.”
A total of $32,000 will be awarded to 32 GoMakeADifference projects.
Congratulations to UWC RCN for their continued support in promoting the awards – we had 10 applications from RCN students this year, of which 5 were successful projects, the highest number from any college.
2020 successful projects:
The projects awarded were once again very diverse and it is inspiring to see how innovative UWC students are when it comes to making a difference.
Some key highlights of projects this year includes:
- Raising cancer awareness in Armenia
- Promoting peace, reducing religious tensions, by bringing together a group of young Hindus and Muslims in India
- Creating reusable mesh bags to help fight single use plastic pollution in Dilijan
- Giving support through crop farming and clean water to rural schools in Uganda and a second project planting 1000 fruit trees in Sudan
- Supporting a sports programme and equipment to help individuals with special needs in Croatia
- Providing devices with offline academic resources in a refugee camp in Eswatini
- Spreading awareness about albinism in Lesotho
- Recycling fishing nets to produce coffee cups, to help tackle single use plastic in Greenland
Colin Habgood (co-founder) assessing the GoMakeADifference 2020 project applications commented, “All projects undergo a rigorous assessment process based on criteria around personal development, project sustainability and success. Whilst not every project can be successful, we hope somehow that by submitting a project plan, this acts as a catalyst and the students can somehow still deliver their plan."
Some projects had similar themes:
- Students will be delivering a number of educational programmes this year, covering topics around peace, climate change and sustainability, social issues, gender based violence. Educational programmes will be held in Nepal, South Sudan, Haiti, Uganda, Iraq, India, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Namibia, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
- We are pleased to be supporting students whose projects aim to help girls around menstruation issues in Pakistan, Lesotho, Uganda and Liberia.
- A number of refurbishment projects will be taking place including developing new playgrounds, toilets, constructing a well, and building a library. People will be benefitting in El Salvador, Cameroon, India, Bangladesh and South Sudan from these GoMakeADifference projects.
Colin and Jill will be giving the certificates to Heads/Chairs attending the UWC meeting in East Africa with a view to the students being presented with their certificates very soon.
We look forward to receiving the project reports when the crop of GoMakeADifference projects have been delivered later this year. Check out our website for project updates from 2019 project awards.