Meet Lauren - part I

Last week I had the pleasure to sit down with this incredible person that inspires me so much and to talk about her story within the United Hearts Children Center. Her name is Lauren. She is the most lovely person I ever met and I feel so lucky to have her as my mentor during this journey.

Lauren has dedicated the last four years of her life to the United Hearts in Bawjiase, Ghana. When I asked her how she got involved with the community in the first place, she told me that she was looking to volunteer abroad after college and was randomly placed there (I like to think that she was magically placed there). The thing is that, once she got there, she really never left. For the last few years Lauren had been going back and forth between Ghana and the US, and even while she is here, her heart belongs to them.

When Lauren arrived in Bawjiase, the kids from the children center were being evicted from the building that they were living in (just 2 rooms for 27 children and 6 staff). She immediately committed to fundraise for the construction of a new home. With her help and the help of many more, the new home was finished. It has indoor toilets, running water, electricity and plenty of space for the children.

The kids are happy and healthy. Thanks to sustainable projects such as fish ponds and the goat farm, and thanks to the staff members, the United Hearts Children Center has been able to provide for themselves. 

It is so clear to everyone the love that Lauren has for the children of United Hearts. Tears pop in her eyes every time she talks about them. "These kids gave me the world, and the least I can do is to make sure that they have a safe place to live and that they have access to basic human needs like education, health, and food."

This amazing community of hard workers just don't stop dreaming. As the United Hearts School is being built, they want to make sure that they can offer quality education to all kids in their community. Lauren says "We have kids walking miles everyday to access schooling, a School Bus would save them time and energy to focus on what is really important."

You too can help United Hearts bring all the children from Bawjiase to the classroom!

100% of the donations will go directly towards The Bus Project and you can check my progress as  I fundraise here in the blog!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY FUNDRAISING PAGE!

Love is in the air...

Oh well... it's Friday again. Time is passing so fast, but I am so excited because some plans that I had are finally coming together! For now I am gonna keep it as a surprise...

These are pictures from last weekend. I was super excited because this was my first american wedding attendance.. as a guest! Because there was my own wedding, and that other one that I sort of crashed... Anyways, party was great and I wish the couple all the happiness in the world!

Here is their story in their own words:

Girl meets boy.

Boy makes girl laugh.

They go on a date and eat donuts and little cartons of milk

while they sit on the sidewalk on Polk Street.

They kiss, they love, they move to Los Angeles.

They live in a cottage and watch a lot of Simpsons

They wouldn't change anything for all the world.

Cute right?

Congratulations Ruby and Dean!!!

And thank you for showing your support for the United Hearts School Bus!!!

Be courageous...

"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

- Michelle Obama

stayclassy.org/julianeUHCCbus

Happy Birthday Nyla!

Friday was time to celebrate the Birthday of the amazing Nyla Rogers! Nyla is the founder of Mama Hope and a true inspiration to me.

All the funds raised at the party will go to support Mama Hope's partner communities in Africa! 

The party was awesome! I didn't realize until then how much I love the 90's. I could not get enough of Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys!! (Everybody... yeahhh eahhh)

And please don't forget to visit my fundraising page and make your donation for the United Hearts School Bus:

stayclassy.org/julianeUHCCbus

The kick-off!

Ready

Set
Go!!!

I just started to promote my fundraising page today!

stayclassy.org/julianeUHCCbus

We already have some donations! Thank you so much you all!


A little bit about the cause:

The United Hearts Children Center in Bawjiase was founded by pastor Elisha and his wife in 2007 and today is the home for 27 children! The Children Center is ran by members of the community and sustained by projects such as fish ponds and a goat farm. Along with the Children Center came the United Hearts Primary School, that has been expanding and will open 3 new classrooms by the time that I get there in September!

In order for the United Hearts School to extend its services to the whole community, they have to provide children with access to the school. That is where I come in! As a new Global Advocate I have an ambitious goal to fundraise $20,000 for a School Bus. The Bus will provide access to quality education in a safe and reliable manner to 100 additional children daily!

#kindnessmatters

New Chapter

The past week has been crazy! Crazy good! As a new Global Advocate I had to attend a four day bootcamp in beautiful Mill Valley, CA. There I met with the Mama Hope staff and the founder of this amazing organization, Nyla Rogers. I also met the other Global Advocates Lily, Erin, Sara, Ash and Kelly that traveled from all over the world to be here with us. 

I must say that I learned more about myself in this bootcamp than I probably did in my entire life! I am so inspired by all these women that I met and I can't wait to be in Africa and get even more inspired  by the community of Bawjiase, Ghana.

It's a new chapter in my life! And this is just the beginning...

Stay tuned, more posts soon.

Lots of love!

Me (Brazil/ SF), Erin (SF), Kelly (New Zealand), Ash (Australia), Sara (NY), Lily (Rhode Island)

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud" - Maya Angelou