Gennarosity Abroad began in 2010 during my second trip to Africa, where I had spent 6 months volunteering and becoming a part of the community. The idea for the charity came about when I realised that I was very fortunate in my upbringing and surroundings, having lived my entire life in the beautiful city of Sydney, and that my education, my resources and my passion meant there was a lot I could do to help others. I have always been a solution oriented person, where if I see a problem I want to know how to fix it. Not worrying just about why it has happened, but worry about the ‘how and what I can do to help.’ This is where Gennarosity Abroad began. On that trip in 2010, I was volunteering on an international program with Madventurer, where we were teaching and building at Karunga’s Primary School campus. While the work we were doing was focused on the primary school, I couldn’t help but notice the kindergarten a mere few meters away, in all its cardboard glory. The kindergarten classroom was in the same original state it had been when it was built thirty years prior. The same cardboard walls that were old and decrepit, the same wooden desks and chairs that were falling apart, and the same timber roof that was caving in. I knew instantly what I had to do, and this is how Gennarosity Abroad began. Within 3 months I had raised $9000 and organised a team of local builders to completely regenerate the classroom in a brand new location. Timber wood and iron sheets were now the walls and the roof. There was glass windows put in, cement floors, and all new wooden desks and chairs for the students. One of the highlights of the construction, that was made possible by the leftover funds raised for the kindy was an office for Mary, the kindergarten teacher. This had never existed before. The kindy was renamed “Karunga’s Emanuel Kindergarten,” in honour of the fundraising efforts from the Emanuel School community, which was the school I graduated from in Sydney. The kindergarten signified more than a greater education for the kids of Karunga; it signified the beginning of Gennarosity Abroad, and it would be the beginning of many projects built to help less fortunate communities based on the generosity and good will of those passionate about making the world a better place. The focus of Gennarosity Abroad is to help local communities, while getting them involved in the charity’s work, and establishing developments that will continue to exist and flourish long after Gennarosity Abroad has left. We aim to complete projects that will eventually become autonomous and sustainable through the efforts of the local community; bringing them together to prosper in a brighter future.
- Genna
