News

Highlights of 2020

Wings of Hope For Africa has had a few highlights of 2020.

It’s been a year of struggles for millions of people. From food insecurity to not having necessities, families and individuals have been impacted more than ever. Adding in the pressure of the holidays makes it tougher, too.

At Wings of Hope, we try our best to help those in our communities. We can’t help every single person, but we know the impact when we help one family at a time. We are proud of what we have accomplished this year!

Christmas Donation

This past Christmas season we launched a campaign: 30 days of Giving Hope from November 24th to December 24th. Our Christmas campaign supported families in Buterere, Burundi. The families we are helping have been severely impacted by the pandemic. With your generosity, we’re able to provide tools to help them during these times.

The donations also help break the cycle of poverty. Your donation gifts ranging from $5 for soaps and toothbrushes to $250 which helps sponsor a child for one year–helps tremendously and is greatly appreciated.

We were also able to help more than 500 families where we donated beyond meat sausages and ground beef in our local community of Calgary.

Covid Relief

Another highlight was our Covid-19 relief efforts this year. We have been supporting our communities with food hamper deliveries and gift cards. Since April, we have helped 1,850 families. In May, we had a food drive. We were able to provide 36 gift cards/groceries to those who needed it the most. We also made another round of food deliveries to individuals this past October. In November, we delivered fresh eggs to more than 60 families in Calgary.

We are grateful of what we have accomplished this year and we know that this was not possible without everyone who has volunteered and donated. It fills us with joy and hope that we have a support system that is continuously helping.

We appreciate your kindness, generosity and your willingness to help and share our cause.

We wish you and your loved ones a happier new year! Stay tuned for our 2021 plans.

An End of Year Thank You

A Message From Our Founder Aline Gahiza

Click here to give a helping hand to communities in need.

See you next year.

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Written by Shama Palangdosan

A thank you to our generous donors

We want to thank our Donors for helping. Last week we mentioned our selfless and hardworking volunteers. Today, we want to give a huge thank you appreciation post to our supportive and thoughtful donors!

It has been a year of challenges, but also a year of compassion. At Wings of Hope For Africa, our donors mean a lot to us. They have been accommodating and generous. They have supported us with our dedication to empower communities and develop self-sufficient programs to end poverty in Burundi, Rwanda, East Africa and Calgary, Alberta.

A few of our contributing organizations are Second Harvest, Breakfast Club of Canada and Bright Light for Africa. They have kindly donated food and also funded our Covid-19 relief efforts. We’re happy and pleased to have them contribute and donate.

Wings of Hope for Africa have had individual donors as well. They have donated to our organization and helped those who need it the most. We’re grateful for their willingness to lend a helping hand to better sustain communities that require food and supplies.

Covid-19 effort with the help of our donors

A huge mission that we focused on this year in Calgary was to provide a helping hand to those who have been impacted by Covid-19. With food insecurities at a high, we knew that we had to give back. Since April 2020, we have helped over 1,850 families with our donors’ help. 

A shoutout to news networks

Also, a special shout out to Global News Calgary for featuring our Covid-19 efforts on the news! And to CTV News for putting a spotlight on our back to school campaign. It is an honour to have news networks invite us to talk about our passion for helping Canadian communities and beyond. We are grateful to those who tune in and learn about our efforts, too.  

A huge thank you again to our donors for helping our communities. We are so appreciative and grateful to them as they provided us with the means to keep going. Their willingness to give to those in need is heartwarming. 

We are excited to see what 2021 will bring to us. To more contributions, community building and uplifting others. 

Take a look at some of our efforts here. 

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Written by Shama Palangdosan

A thank you to our passionate volunteers

We want to thank our Volunteers for helping. It has been quite a year of sadness and quarantine, but it has also been a year of gratitude and hope. At Wings of Hope For Africa, we could not have done what we do and help our communities without our willing, selfless volunteers. 

They have been dedicated to our cause and are passionate about giving a helping hand. To mention some names, we are thankful to have Mica Bot, who manages our primary social media platforms and Soloya Huang, who manages our secondary social media accounts. They post and interact with you online and inform you of updates. Their efforts do not go unnoticed!

We are grateful to have Evan Machacek for creating our promotion video, as well as Vanessa Pat, who has designed our posters. Their creativity and drive are always appreciated. 

We are also thankful to have Veronique Bellamy, who updates our website and Laura Olmos, who helps us with grant applications. These are such crucial roles to our organization, and we recognize their hard work. 

A special thank you

Wings of Hope also wants to give a special thanks to our volunteers in Africa. A huge thank you to Yvan Kana, who delivers our programs in Buterere, Kivumu and communities in Burundi. As well as Nsengiyumva Aimable for helping with administrative work in Burundi. 

Another big thank you to Colette Mukankusi for delivering our program in Kigali, Rwanda and Samy D. Israel for helping with administration! 

And of course, to Aline Gahiza our founder, who is thoughtful and persevering.

Last but not least, we are happy to have all of you who share the word of our cause. It truly takes a village and a community to help those in need, and with your shares, donations and help, we are able. 

Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. We are so grateful for your passion for helping. We are excited about what’s to come in 2021. 

Thank you again to our volunteers for helping. To more helping hands, community building and uplifting those in need. 

Take a look at some of our efforts here.
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Written by: Shama Palangdosan