Change for Life is an exciting program that has the ability to involve everyone at your church or school in to care for students living in the city of Bukavu, DR Congo. Just think how amazing it would be to rally students at your school to partner with students their same age in Africa! So sign your school up, learn about life in DR Congo through the eyes of one little girl named Ishara, and start collecting change!

The School in DR Congo
In an effort to change the course of suffering lives, ELI operates training centers, schools, orphanages, and health services throughout Eastern and Central Africa. One of our schools is located in the heart of a slum in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It currently reaches over 600 children from elementary through high school and is making a world of difference in their lives. Many of these children lost their parents to the civil war and have been living on the streets or with relatives. The school provides education, lunch (the only meal that many of them receive during the day), clothing, and basic health care, all of which is giving them hope for the future.

The Change for Life program consists of two main parts:
 
The Presentation: Ishara’s Journey
This 30-45 minute interactive presentation takes your class or school through the real-life journey of a 14-year-old girl named Ishara in DR Congo. You will experience life through her eyes as you are presented with the decisions that she has been forced to make and then live out the consequences. Students will have the opportunity to vote on the options given to them, and the story will unfold based on the decisions they make. At the end of the story, they will be challenged to think about how their own daily decisions can help children like Ishara.
 
The Challenge: Change for Life

Students will be challenged to collect change for an agreed upon period of time (usually 30 days) to help children like Ishara who attend the ELI school in Bukavu. All funds will go towards providing meals, education, health care, and clothing for the children and programs that support long-term solutions to help their families move out of poverty. A little bit of change can go a long way! Every dime can provide one lunch for a child at the school. ELI can provide containers to collect the change in your classrooms, office, and cafeteria.
 
Students will have the opportunity to take home a small Change for Life container to collect their money in. They will be challenged to come up with creative ways to collect money to impact the students in D.R. Congo. On the final day of the challenge, the school is encouraged to celebrate the impact they have made by having an African party. As they enjoy African themed food, music, games, etc, the students can count and roll all the change that was collected to help change countless lives in Africa.

ACTION STEPS

1. Contact us:

E-mail us at ambassador@empoweringlives.org or call our office at (909) 931-1311 to find out how Change for Life could work specifically at your school.

2. Make a Connection:

Identify the key teacher or staff member at your school who would be able to make the program happen and get us in contact with them. Give us their contact information and give ours to them. Together, we can start working on the details to make this event happen.

3. Get the Word Out:

Once the date is set, start spreading the word to everyone at school! Put up posters around campus, ask if you can make an announcement in the classrooms, and ask to put the info in the school bulletin. Do everything you can to get students excited about the program!

4. Get Everyone Involved:

After the presentation, encourage students to take home a Change for Life container to collect their money in.  Distribute Change for Life jars to each classroom, office, and cafeteria for the students to pour their change into. Throughout the challenge, encourage students to continue raising funds

5. Create Competitions:

Create competitions to make the challenge even more fun. Organize class competitions to see who can raise the most money. Create a competition for the most creative fundraising idea. Be sure to have a prize ready for the winning class! The winners will also be featured on the ELI website.

6. Ending the Challenge:

Arrange to present the funds to an ELI staff member on the last day of the challenge. Have an African themed party to celebrate all the funds that came in. Roll all of the coins that are collected and cash them in so you can present ELI with a check. Be sure to return the Change for Life jars to ELI.

7. Send us your Stories:

E-mail us the best story from your event. It could be about a creative fundraising idea that was used or about the class that raised the most money. Include pictures so that we can post all of your work on our website!

8. Continue the Momentum:
Once the challenge is over, you can still help carry the momentum on your campus. Start a club that will continue to be involved in raising money to help children in Africa. (Be sure to check out the Start a Club Campaign for more details!)