WE charity, previously known as Free The Children, is an international charity which helps to change the lives of young children around the world and provide them with the tools they need to have a good life. Connecting with multiple countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, WE has improved many communities by creating sustainable developments such as schools for those who cannot afford it and providing clean water for people to drink.
I was lucky enough to attend WE day on the 22nd March and it was truly a memorable experience, where I listened to the likes of Muzoon Al-Mellehan and Francesca Brown speak about their personal experiences and how it has influenced them to change the lives of others for the better, and I was even able to witness Jessie J’s exceptional performance of her latest song ‘who you are’. However, this would not have been possible without my friend Naomi Ogunkola, a fellow supporter of WE who has contributed a lot through her charitable work and passion to see a change in our world.
How did you first become aware of the Free The Children?
‘I first became aware with Free The Children when two Education Programming Co-ordinators visited my school to speak to the year above about FTC and the work they do with younger people. I was in year 4 at this point. My classmates and myself especially, weren't very happy with this so we went to our principal and asked if we could get involved and we started to fundraise in bring and buy sales (ultimately car boot sales just without the car), selling seasonal cards, receiving donations and planning bake sales to host during school lunch times.’
What motivated you to become an advocate for the charity?
‘I guess the fact that the motto, if you will, was 'children helping children through education'. I believe that no matter your age, you should be encouraged to do was you are passionate about and for me as an 8-year-old at the time, I wanted to be an example that age is just a number. Also as someone who's always wanted to google it, I found it to be shocking that children my age were dying from easily preventable and treatable diseases. Over 700 million people have adequate access to clean water or sanitation and no one seemed to talk or know about it. I felt that educating others on how they could impact the world and change it for the better was something I had to do as a human being.’
With the event being so recent, which celebrity speaker has influenced you the most and why?
‘Out of all the people I heard speak at WE day I would say the most impactful to me is Craig Kielburger, one of the founders of FTC. To me, he is living proof that it doesn't matter what your age is, if you are passionate enough and work hard enough, you can achieve your goals. After he read a newspaper article about a child labourer, he knew he had to speak out in front of his classmates and talk about the fact that young kids all of the world have to take part in menial work labour.’
What type of things have you done for WE?
‘I've fundraised both in school with my class and out of school [and] I hosted a mini WE day with help from two good friends of mine in which we raised over £1000. I was also given the opportunity to go to India with FTC (Free the Children) after applying for the annual Virgin Atlantic scholarship trip.’
How do you plan to continue supporting the charity?
‘I'm planning to continue fundraising with my school and with friends I have outside of school, and I am actually thinking of going to another FTC trip to Kenya either this summer or next summer.’
Hopefully more young people like Naomi can help make a difference to this charity, because as Craig and Marc Kielburger said at WE day: ‘I am WE’
By Stephanie Olujinmi- Raji, Newstead Wood Grammar School for Girls
