It’s been so long since we began this journey and we are so grateful for what we have accomplished thus far. We have started this journey after a realization, a realization of the importance of having access to basic school supplies and other educational aid materials and the importance of having access to a support system in the process of teaching and learning. This realization eventually became a compelling reason to design and launch a project at the time. We launched a project that was designed to solve these problems related to access to basic school supplies and other educational aid materials in a school located in the small town of Sedika, Ethiopia. We are so grateful for what we were able to accomplish through this project for we were able to support 115 Sedika Students to have access to basic educational aid materials including uniforms and sports kits, and also build a learning center.
During these years and in the process we had some wonderful experiences and also faced so many challenges that eventually helped us learn and grow as a group. I personally am grateful for all the experiences for I have learned and grown a lot. I know the work is challenging, frustrating, and sometimes takes a lot out of you, but we kept going believing in the work we were doing and the objectives we set. The five-year experience, of working on this particular project again became an inspiration to continue working on similar other endeavors in other places. As a result, Fanos Light Children support Inc . was founded. The Fanos Light children support Inc. was a nonprofit organization founded in Feb 2019 with the purpose of supporting children and youth education. The organization has five board members and volunteers who believed in our work and our mission.
We are very grateful for all the support we received to continue the work we have set to do. During the 2019/20 school year, we designed and launched a Student Equity project that was designed by two of our board members and volunteers Dinu Rajapakse and Sheila Le. Through this project, we were able to support some families in Vietnam by collaborating with Canadian Helping children in Vietnam. Though the pandemic affect our work and the goals we set, we were able to raise some funds that would be used to support some families and their children. The other thing we did through this project was support one school in Rural Manitoba. We were able to support St. Teresa School which is located in Northern Manitoba. We were able to support the Community and the school by collecting books and donating to them. We are grateful for the work that Dinu and Sheila and all the SEP have done on this project. At the same time, we continued discussing and working with other people in different places, especially in Ethiopia. We are so grateful for what we were able to accomplish.
Then we launched an after-school program that is mainly designed to support children and youth education here in Winnipeg, Canada. The objective of this program was to support the children of the immigrant community children by providing these children to have access to a space where they could come to study, play, learn and read and have access to educational aid materials like computers and books, and to have access to various programs that would help them succeed in their studies and in their life. We had various programs that are designed to engage these students in a more meaningful way, we had programs related to reading, writing, art, and craft, design it science, and mentoring programs. We are grateful for everything we have accomplished through this program for we run the program from October to June. We had around 21 students come to our programs, and we have seen some beautiful and inspiring moments of learning and growth for both the children and us. We have seen a glimpse of moments that is very educational and inspiring. The program does not go without challenges and shortcomings. We have seen all the challenges related to this work, the challenges related to the shortage of volunteers, the challenges related to the space, especially to the younger children, and the challenges related to materials and financial recourse. Despite the challenge, we continued working with these students with what we had, because we believed in the work we were doing and the children who came to our program. We are so grateful that we were able to accomplish this through this program for we organized our year-end program in June and handed certificates to all our participants at the event. We are grateful who supported our work during the year and also who made this program to be a success. I want to take this opportunity again to extend my thanks and appreciation to all our volunteers and supporters during the year.
The next big change in our organization came in the month of March, for our organization was approved as a charitable organization by the Canadian charities authority. We applied for charitable status more than a year ago because we want to continue our work in a more organized way. We thank God for his goodness and for his mercies for application was accepted and approved in March 2022 to become a charity under the name The Faso Light Education and Virtues Inc. The Fanos Light Education and Virtues Inc. is an organization designed with the purpose of supporting children and youth education here in Canada and beyond.
The Fanos Light Education and Virtues Inc. is a charitable organization that was set up to continue the work we have been working through our project and organization. Our vision is to see a generation equipped with proper training and values or virtues. We believe in the power of education and the importance of having values and virtues in our aspirations and growth. We believe we would bring a difference in children and youth education with a bit of Faith, compassion, sacrifice, dedication, and responsibility.
