This Mother’s Day weekend, a North Shore charity is inviting residents to reach out to girls and women in Africa.
Willing Hearts International Society Canada, a North-Vancouver based non-profit organization, is hosting a Mother’s Day Tea on Saturday to raise money for its women’s programs at a community centre in the village of Musembe, Kenya. The event will feature tea and treats, a nature walk, a kids’ table and music by the New Generation Blue Note Jazz Quartet.
Khayanga Wasike is a longtime North Vancouver resident who now spends most of the year in her native country of Kenya where she serves as president and CEO of WHISCA. In an email interview with the North Shore News, Wasike says the goal of the organization is to relieve poverty through community development projects, enhance education by offering scholarships, and support independent living.
She says the funds raised at Saturday’s tea will go towards a girls’ leadership training program and a women’s micro-credit program that recruits and trains women in agribusiness and entrepreneurship.
WHISCA has been in operation since 2003 and has completed projects in Chad and Cameroon. In 2009, the organization moved its focus to Kenya. At that time, it also moved its head office from Powell River to North Vancouver.
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The WHISCA Mother’s Day Tea takes place Saturday, May 7, 3-5 p.m. at Corrigan Nature House, located at the Maplewood Flats Conservation Area, 2645 Dollarton Hwy., North Vancouver. Tickets are $30 (free for kids 12 and under), available at whisca.org or by calling 778-997-9442.
