Marie-Odile Savarit, longtime AEP Board Member and Volunteer, more commonly known as Momma Mario, said, “If you ask me the difference between AEP 10 years ago and now, I would say we went from a small mom and pop store to a big supermarket, but in the same time, AEP in its spirit remained the same.” The program has developed and evolved significantly over the years, and it shows in the numbers. Fred Kamanya, Manager of Academic Activities for AEP, reviewed the growth that the Scholarship Program, Nutrition Program, activities, and clubs have experienced. 

If you choose to spend your own time volunteering, it is so important to find something you are passionate about. This was clearly the case for Alexandre; working with the AEP was a complex and emotional experience. When asked what he learned from his trip in Zambia, Alexandre responded, “It’s going to take a lot of time for me to know about what I learned there. It was very intense and very moving. I still need time to see what this experience brought me. “

Some organizations focus specifically on HIV, some on providing uniforms to primary students, some on entrepreneurship.... but nobody is looking at the whole child or youth, looking comprehensively at her or his challenges and looking at how to best open doors for the students so that they can leverage their potential to the fullest and take their future into their own hands.

When asked why they decided to sponsor students, Holly delivered an emotional response: “For both of us, education is so important. To learn that these children don’t even have access to simple secondary education for lack of funds, it makes me so sad. They’ve all lost members of their family.”