There aren't many ways to think globally and act locally in the same instance, but 27 Million Voices (27MV) lets Prince George do so.
The all-local international non-governmental organization (NGO) has boots on the ground in Ivory Coast and Ghana, building a safehouse for some of the many exploited children break free of the slave/human trafficking trade rampant in that region (children by the thousand are kidnapped or swindled into the cocoa industry to make mainstream chocolate).
The boots belong to Allison Fedorkiw, who has made multiple trips there developing relations and making preparations to build the facility. It is a modest building with modest goals, but the region is impoverished, politically conflicted, and reeling from recent military horrors as part of the Sierra Leone-Liberia factional atrocities.
Rather than focus on the grave issues faced there, Fedorkiw and the local board have announced a fundraising event to show the other side of the region's personality, the side Fedorkiw appreciates best.
"We are going to focus on the rich culture of West Africa," she said, only back in Prince George a matter of weeks from her most recent mission there. The area was still affected by December's bloody standoff between deposed Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo and the winner of the nation's elections, Alassane Ouattara. The 27 Million Voices base of operations is a short drive in between the main city of Abidjan and the main refugee camp for displaced Ivorians just over the border in Ghana.
"The thing is, I don't find it discouraging at all," Fedorkiw told The Citizen about the state of social flux and political dysfunction going on there now. "If anything, this trip made me see that this project is doable. Being there through that and living with it proved to me that we are doing something we can achieve."
The safehouse would be there for the many kids who escape the human trafficking industry but have no idea where they originally come from or how to start a new life.
27MV would help repatriate them to their home villages, if possible, and connect them to schools and legitimate jobs for those who can't trace their lineage.
Fedorkiw and other 27MV contacts have established partnerships with other NGOs in the region and with the money, the construction is ready to proceed.
"This is a very manageable and attainable project, and so needed. It will help a huge number of people and also act as a model that can be applied in other communities," Fedorkiw said. "We are 100 per cent volunteer based, and 100 per cent of the funds goes directly to the source, so supporters in Prince George can have confidence in their international contribution."
The event is Nov. 5 at the Coast Inn of the North. The formal dinner will focus on African cuisine themes, with a slate of West African entertainment and information, silent auction and other features. It is the second annual 27MV gala and the goal this year is to net $8,000.
Tickets are $75 each or $550 for a table of eight. Fedorkiw encouraged corporate Christmas parties to tie into the event as a staff event with a philanthropic twist.
Tickets are available at the Coast Inn and Nancy O's.
Information is available from admin@27millionvoices.org.
