Since the beginning of the school year in 2013, a small group of students have been operating here at school, as well as outside of school, doing various fundraising and charity activities for the NGO called Compassionate Journeys. The organization is based in Ghana, West Africa and aims to help by developing strong communities and leaders in order to ensure a sustainable future for those in need. Their projects include movements against the trafficking of children, helping to provide education for Ghanaian children and providing medical care in rural clinics.

When the SIS-Compassionate Journeys group was established, we initially had a lot of ambitious ideas on how to support the organization. We became keen on spending the year raising money for a trip to Ghana where would spend a week during the summer building a school. However, with all the members of the group wanting to go, we soon realized that the costs for transportation and accommodation would be hard to obtain. Instead, we began to research the most effective ways in which we could contribute. As a result, we have been able to help in several ways, rather than spending lots of money to go on one charity trip.

A project which was initiated from the start and continued until March of 2015, was the ‘dream pillow’ project. This involved sewing as many pillows as possible that were eventually shipped to Ghana. The project is mainly a symbolic one, as the aim is for the pillows to be distributed to children in need and for them to fill their pillow with their dreams for the future, giving them hope that they can one day achieve these dreams.

Along with this, we also raised money to send directly to the headquarters in Ghana. We discussed a number of creative fundraising ideas, ultimately settling for raising money through something active and fun: the 5k Color Me Rad run. The run took place in June 2014 and five members of SIS-Compassionate Journeys participated personally. Each member sought out sponsors for the activity, and in total we were able to raise around 2,000 SEK. This money is going towards buying school supplies and materials for Ghanaian school children. To get them a head start, together with the Dream Pillows we also sent a box of school supplies to the headquarters in Ghana.

Finally, we have been able to spread information about Compassionate Journeys and their aims to our peers at school, hopefully inspiring others to work towards creating a sustainable future for underprivileged and trafficked children.

Visit the website for any further information about their projects and aims: http://www.compassionatejourneys.com