ME To WE Is Taking My Kid To Africa

As a parent, my goal is to raise strong independent girls who will one day change the world. I just didn’t expect it to happen so darn fast. Last week Brigette (13) came home from school and said that she had a presentation from the ME to WE people about the WE Movement and some of the volunteer opportunities they offer. She went on to say that after the presentation, the representatives offered some time for one-on-one questions if anyone wanted more information. To her surprise, out of all the grade 7 & 8 students (roughly 300 kids), only 3 kids stayed behind to chat, and guess who was front and centre? So yeah, it looks like ME to WE is taking my kid to Africa this summer!

{mom faints on the floor}

It all started with an invite I got from my friends at the Yummy Mummy Club to attend WE Day in Calgary back in October. I knew about WE Day but had never attended before and decided to bring my 2 older daughters to experience the day with me. I remember watching them during the concert wondering if they were really ‘getting’ the ideals behind the movement or if they were more interested in the celebrities and the music. It looks like I finally have my answer.

I’ll never forget the look on her face when I asked her casually (as I do every single day), “how was school today honey?”. She looked hesitant almost afraid to tell me. I was immediately on alert. Did she get bullied? Did she fail a major test? Did she lose her lap top? No, she was worried about telling me she found a purpose and that purpose would take her thousands of miles to the other side of the world. She was worried that I would snap back to her with an over protective, oh-hell-no and that would be the end of that discussion. But as much as I was shocked by her telling me that she wants to go to Africa, I shocked her right back by saying, YES!Without hesitation, I said yes, and my heart simultaneously swelled with pride and broke with sadness. This is it. It’s the beginning of my daughters finding their way in life without…me. This is the moment that all my big brave talk about wanting them to go back packing, and sending my kids to Sweden for university and wanting them to see the world and experience other cultures begins. This is the moment that I have to be the brave strong woman that I want them to be. Of course I said yes and then I went to my room and cried a little bit.For the next week Brigette spent every waking hour talking to her own personal WE contact, planning and researching her very first ME to WE volunteer trip. She’s picked Tanzania because, and I quote, “I want to go to the place that’s the farthest away for the longest amount of time.” Talk about ambitious! Her trip will be a total of 17 days in Africa where she will be working hand to hand with a youth organization called Free The Children. She will see a safari, she will live in a tent camp, she will build walls for a library, she will meet new people, she will learn a new language and she will love every second of it.Brigette is responsible for fund raising the cost of her trip. She’s already raised close to $1000 but she has a long way to go and every little bit helps. If you want to donate, I’ve included a link to her official fund raising website below. 

Donate to Brigette’s ME to WE volunteer trip to Tanzania here! 

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