Be.The.Change

"Giving the children of Olevolos hope through education to be the change in the world"  




About Us

 

 (From left to right- Alefiyah Lokhandwala, Ali Reese)

Alefiyah Lokhandwala- Upcoming freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. Graduate of Laurel School. Former President of the Laurel School Community Service Board. Former Captain of Laurel's Speech and Debate team. Member of YPS (Youth Philanthropy and Service).

Ali Reese- Upcoming freshman at Boston University. Graduate of Laurel School. Former Student Body President of Laurel School. Member of the DNA Dance Competition Team. Member of YPS (Youth Philanthropy and Service). 

How We Got Started

One of our teachers, Ms. Dory Gannes, started an orphanage in Africa called the Olevolos Project. This orphange is for single-parent and extremely vulnerable children who are unable to afford clothing or a steady source of food each day.

We were incredibly inspired by Ms. Gannes's dedication and persistence to better the lives of the children living in poverty in Africa, so we decided that we wanted to be directly involved in the childrens' lives, apart from donations and sponsoring.  

After talking to Ms. Gannes, we learned that the Olevolos Project is primarily focused on giving these children "a safe, secure and supportive home environment", but it also "encourages them to become active and contributing members of their local and global communities". In order to achieve their goals and with the influence of Ms. Gannes, we decided that we wanted to create an organization that would support the education of the children of the Olevolos Project.