Sarah Slean – CARE’s newest Ambassador of Change

By guest blogger Kathy Wong, CARE Canada’s Ambassador Relations and Events Manager. Kathy leads a team of dedicated CARE staff who manage fundraising events and campaigns, as well as the CARE Ambassadors of Change program.

One of the best parts of my job at CARE Canada is working with powerful and inspiring Canadians like our Ambassadors of Change. As the manager of our ambassador program, I have the amazing opportunity to work with talented Canadians who use their influence for the greater good by engaging Canadians to learn about and get involved in our work. Today, I am thrilled to officially welcome Sarah Slean to the CARE Canada family as our newest Ambassador of Change.

I met Sarah in Rwanda in November 2009, where she was involved in filming a documentary called Rwanda: Rises Up, produced by the organization Song for Africa. While she was there, she visited a CARE project, which was featured in the documentary. This was her first trip to Africa and I remember how comfortable she was interacting with the people and communities we work with and how great it felt to see her become inspired by CARE’s work.

Since then, Sarah has supported CARE in different ways, including speaking at a movie event we held during International Women’s Day in 2010. Now, she has officially signed on to be one of our ambassadors.

If you’re a fan like I am, be sure to buy a VIP pass to one of her concerts this month. CARE Canada will be receiving a donation towards our efforts to fight poverty and defend dignity worldwide.

Learn more about Sarah and our Ambassadors of Change program.

Outside the registration centre in Dadaab

This video was taken outside the registration centre at the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya. The people in the video are waiting to register. Many here are exhausted, having walked close to two weeks from Somalia due to the drought and on-going conflict. More than 1000 people are arriving at the camps daily.

You can learn more about the current food crisis and how you can help on the CARE Canada website.

Drought Crisis on CBC’s The National

Last night, CBC’s The National featured a story about the drought crisis in East Africa. They visited the Dadaab refugee camp, run by CARE Canada, in Kenya. The Dadaab camp is the largest refugee camp in the world. Originally designed to hold 90,000 refugees, it now has a population of over 370,000 and 1,000 people arrive daily.

You can watch the story on the CBC website: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/1233408557/ID=2051137447

CARE, in partnership with the Humanitarian Coalition, has launched a joint emergency appeal to bring lifesaving support to those affected by the drought. Learn more about how you can help on the CARE Canada website.