Fundraising Update #1

Just one week into my fundraising and already I have put a HUGE dent in my goal!  This week, with the help of donations from family and friends, I accumulated $520, which means that I only have $2880 left to go!! 

A BIG special thanks goes out to:

• Lorraine Dunne-Leslie and Tony Leslie
• Sinead Walsh and Lindsay Leslie
• Whitney (Leyland) and Brock McGregor
• Mary Caswell

Stay tuned for future fundraising endeavours: 50/50 draw, St. Patrick's Day Bake Sale, Charity Brewery Tour and a Bottle Drive.

Remember that if you'd like to make an online donation, that you can directly donate by following this link: http://yci.tigweb.org/ind/MattLeslie
Thanks again everyone!

Let the Fundraising Begin! [http://yci.tigweb.org/ind/MattLeslie]

So one thing I have yet to mention in this blog, is the amount of money I am going to require in order to participate in the project overseas (whoops!).  In order to take part in this project, I am responsible for raising $3400 as well as paying for my own airfare, vaccinations and any other cost that comes with travelling abroad.

When I first understood that I was to raise $3400 I was a little overwhelmed.  It seemed like an awful lot of money for me to have to raise in order to volunteer.  I wondered, where exactly is this money going?

Looking into YCI, I discovered that they strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).  The CRA's Income Tax Act allows for a range of 80% of the fundraised money to be used for programming costs and 20% to be used for administration and other fundraising.  YCI's uses 88% of the fundraised money for programming and 12% for administration costs. 

A lot of the money will go directly to the project I will be taking part in as well as providing me with food and accommodations while in Tanzania.  Knowing this I felt a little bit better, however still overwhelmed.

I have a long way to go, but would like to kick of the fundraising today!  My personal fundraising page has become available and you can visit it at: http://yci.tigweb.org/ind/MattLeslie.  All online donations will immediately receive a tax receipt.

Every Sunday I'll post on my fundraising efforts and send a special shout out to everyone who has contributed to my project!

That being said, lets Raise some Funds!!

-Matt

My Volunteer Project

So far I do not have real specifics as to what my project really entails.  I have a general idea of what I'll be doing for the 6 weeks that I'll be spending in Arusha Tanzania.

My project activities may include:
    1. Working with the Umoja Centre
The Umoja Centre provides local youth, who have had minimal schooling, with an opportunity to 'fill a gap' in their education.  The Umoja Centre offers a year long course which enables youth to acquire the skills they need to obtain their dreams of becoming teachers, lawyers or entrepreneurs.  While at the Umoja Centre, I may conduct English classes, computer training, personal development, civics, business studies and careers.  (For more info on the Umoja Centre, check out: http://umoja.com.au/joomla/)

    2. Youth Clubs
I will be participating in current clubs and exploring the possibility of creating new youth clubs.  I'm especially excited about this, because it means that I get to talk with a lot of youth and find common interests.

    3.Youth Career Day
I believe that myself and the other volunteers would be working to develop a 'Youth Career Day'.  I'm not entirely sure what this means, the description is rather vague.  From what I'm reading, I would think that it would be a program that would allow youth to shadow someone that works in a field that they are interested in.

    4. Youth Entrepreneurship
Again, the details were rather vague, but I think I would be planning and running workshops and seminars on how to plan a business and how to start your own business.

    5. Engaging local youth
This will probably take place through out the project, and the team of volunteers will work on different ways to attract youth to participate in our programs/workshops.  We will be exploring community initiatives and finding ways to formally and informally engage local youth.  This seems really exciting, as it would give me a great chance to learn about the community in which I'm living and really get the cultural experience I am looking for.

So there you have it.  You now know what I know.  Its freaky to think, that in just over 100 days I will have not only completed my MSc, but I will be on a whole different continent!  While I still have quite a bit of time, I do still have a whole slew of things left to accomplish!

Stay tuned for more updates!

-Matt

Tanzania 101

Since being selected as a volunteer, I started looking into Tanzania.  I don't know a whole lot about the country, but I thought I could compile some information here on this blog to help everyone else understand where it is I will be going in July.
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Africa - The green country is Tanzania.

                                                      

Tanzanian flag

The United Republic of Tanzania is a central-east African country.  The capital city is Dodoma and the largest city is Dar es Salaam.  Tanzania is a combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar which were separate states that united in 1964.  Tanganyika means 'sail in wilderness' and Zanibar means 'fair is this island'.

The population is approximately 45 million people, with a life expectancy of  52 years and a median age of 18 years.

English and Swahili are the two official languages.  Swahili is the unifying language between the different tribes (each which has its own language), while English enables Tanzanians to participate in the global economy and culture.  Swahili is used in primary education while English is used for secondary and post secondary education.

Tanzania is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the heighest point in Africa and is bordered by three of the largest lakes on the continent (Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa). 

As of a 2007 estimate, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in adults is  6.2%, which is approximately 1.4 million people.

The Tanzania economy is largely argricultural with its valuable cash crops being coffee, cottton, sisal and tea.
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I'm going to Tanzania!

 Hello Readers! 

For those of you who do not know my, my name is Matt Leslie.  I am 25 years old and am currently in the process of finishing up my MSc at the University of Guelph.  This is my first time blogging, so please bear with me while I learn the ropes!

Friday February 18th I was selected as a volunteer to take part in one of Youth Challenge Internationals's (YCI)  volunteer projects! 

I'M GOING TO TANZANIA! 

A modern day Confucius might say something along the lines of "A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a simple blog".  Its cheesey and its over done, but I hope that by blogging my experience I can share with everyone what I am thinking/feeling and what is happening in my life.  I'll also give details about Tanzania, YCI and the specifics of the project I'll be participating in.  

I'm not going to Tanzania for about five months, but I would like to keep everyone updated on my fundraising progress and initiatives, as well as all of the preparations I'll be taking before I travel over 10 000 km to participate in a 6 week volunteer project.

Travelling to Africa has been a dream of mine for quite some time now, so I am thrilled that I have this opportunity.

Alright, that is all I've got for now.  I'm extremely excited and have already begun researching the Umoja Center (Where I'll be volunteering), Arusha (Where I'll be living) and Tanzania (Where I'll be going).  Stay tuned for more updates!!

-Matt