Hamilton – Leo Johnson’s endless quest to bring a modern learning center to his homeland moved a step closer Friday when his non-profit organization, Empowerment Squared unveils its 2017 Fundraising Gala at Hamilton’s spectacular LIUNA Station Banquet and Conference Centre.
According to organizers, some 500 caring citizens, community leaders, young professionals, and international guests including Paynesville City Mayor Cyvette Gibson, will be on hand to celebrate and support the transformational work of Empowerment Squared.
The gala will showcase Empowerment Squared’s international project – the Liberian Learning Center, which will house the first post-war public library in Liberia and impact the lives of over 130,000 people in several communities.
As recently highlighted by the visit of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Liberia, the challenges faced by children and people in Liberia in accessing education and learning are extreme.
The learning center when completed will bring relief to thousands of communities and children in Liberia, lacking a safe haven to gather, learn, innovate, and study.
In a post-war nation where there is only one textbook for every 27 students, only 22% of public and community schools have seats, literacy rates in Liberia are still among the lowest in the world, and the devastation of the recent Ebola crisis is still being evaluated.
Mr. Johnson says he was inspired to start the dream of the Liberian Learning Centre project by reading the biography of Samuel Kaboo Morris while in the refugee camp, a Liberian prince who moved to the U.S. and went to Taylor University but was unable to fulfil his dream of bringing back education to Liberia due to death.
He compares that with the awe of stepping into McMaster University’s library for the first time as a student. “I was scared. You just pick up a book and nobody asks you a question. I couldn’t get over it.”
Friday’s gala will feature powerful stories of youth whose lives have been transformed through Empowerment Squared programs, inspiring speakers, live performances, and a silent auction, all capped by a night of dancing hosted by DJ Mahito of G98.7FM.
The Gala is themed Global Citizens, in recognition of the fact that Empowerment Squared is creating empowerment opportunities in Canada and in Liberia based on the notion that we are all part of one humankind.
The gala was initiated by 2 Girls 1 Dream, a dynamic group of young women brought together by Chinaza Chuks-Mady and Dinorah Perez to inspire philanthropic engagement among young professionals in support of Empowerment Squared.
Launched in April 2015, the group continues to grow and inspire community members to ensure that the less fortunate are given a chance to break the cycle of poverty.
Based in Hamilton, Empowerment Squared is a Canadian charity that works with youth and communities to effect sustainable change through education, social development, and lifelong learning opportunities.
We aim to empower less privileged communities through academic mentoring for youth and young adults, leadership development, and supervised access to sports and recreation opportunities.
We believe that lasting community change must come from within, and that real help means giving people the knowledge and tools to help themselves.
This year, Empowerment Squared is supporting over 200 youth ranging from grades two to twelve, marking an increase in program participation by over 50% from the previous year.
Led by dedicated staff, volunteers, and a committed board of directors, the organization engages a diverse group of youth new to Canada from countries including Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo, Kenya, China, Liberia, and Yemen.
Empowerment Squared has been proud to partner with organizations like the Hamilton Community Foundation, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Immigrant Workers Centre, Volunteer Hamilton, McMaster University, Laidlaw Foundation, Industry Education Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and others.
Mr. Johnson spent eight years as a refugee after fleeing war-torn Liberia in 1998. He arrived in Canada in 2006 with an inspiration unmatched. A government-sponsored refugee, he was on his own in an unfamiliar (and very cold) place.
“I decided I could either carry on with a victim mentality – or be a champion of possibilities.”
Remembering reading by a streetlight in his youth as the only means to study, he took on the enormous challenge of finding a way to hone his skills and give back.
He applied to McMaster University and was accepted. “They gave me a shot,” says Leo, who had completed his high school education in the refugee camps.
In his second year, he founded Empowerment Squared, a charitable organization that promotes access to education, lifelong learning and now ground-breaking educational projects in his native Liberia.
He graduated with a degree in political science in 2011, but not before receiving the Albert Lager Prize for Student Initiative and earning a spot as a semi-finalist in CBC’s Next Great Prime Minister Competition.
He’s also received the YMCA Peace Medal, Gandhi Peace Award, and World Citizenship Award from the City of Hamilton and has been recognized among the top 75 immigrants in Canada – and he’s been named one of the Hamilton Spectator’s Top 40 under 40.