Capacity rural International (CRI)
Our primary local partner, CRI, is a community-based organization in rural Northern Ghana. CRI collaborates with diverse stakeholders including traditional leaders and elders, women, parents, and youth. Their goals include education, job training, environmental conservation, improved agriculture, food security, and gender equity. All projects are selected and implemented by the community with a focus on long-term sustainability and community empowerment.
CRI was founded by Walisu Alhassan (pictured below). Originally working with two village communities, CRI now includes nine villages of over 15,000 residents.
Engage Globally has been collaborating with CRI since 2014. We began by funding a one room learning center for 30 students and now support the education of over 600 children, youth, and women. Engage provides financial support and capacity building, as we emphasize mutual learning and cooperation.
CRI was founded by Walisu Alhassan (pictured below). Originally working with two village communities, CRI now includes nine villages of over 15,000 residents.
Engage Globally has been collaborating with CRI since 2014. We began by funding a one room learning center for 30 students and now support the education of over 600 children, youth, and women. Engage provides financial support and capacity building, as we emphasize mutual learning and cooperation.
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"I started CRI because of my life story as a young boy who lost my Dad at the age of 8 and was adopted by my uncle who couldn't afford to provide for me. I had to care for myself at a young age by being a shoe shiner, cleaning gutters of government residential homes, weeding, and more... just any thing to get some money and support myself in school. At some point in my life, hunger was something normal. To cut a long story short, all this hunger and no school or supplies made me want to start something that could create a change and chance for children and youth in rural communities in Northern Ghana to get access to education and empower women in our communities. So, creating change in rural communities is why I founded CRI." - Walisu Alhassan, Founder and Director of CRI |
the children's eternal rainforest
Engage Globally also collaborates with the Monteverde Conservation League (MCL)to support environmental education. MCL conserves and protects the 55,000 acre Children's Eternal Rainforest in Costa Rica. Much of the forest was protected by children from around the world, beginning with a class of Swedish primary students who raised funds in the 1980s to buy and preserve land. The movement grew to include children from 44 countries and the rainforest is now one of the largest community protected regions in Central America.
Today, MCL provides opportunities for children from neighboring communities to visit the forest and to learn about biodiversity and conservation. Engage supports field trips, environmental classes in local schools, and planting of native plants and trees. In 2019, we helped MCL create a program for girls to inspire them to pursue careers in environmental science and conservation. These girls visited the forest for overnight stays, met with inspiring women environmental leaders, and participated in community conservation activities including a river clean-up, a community march, and tree planting. Pictured above are some of the girls, with their teacher, at a 2022 weekend reunion.
Today, MCL provides opportunities for children from neighboring communities to visit the forest and to learn about biodiversity and conservation. Engage supports field trips, environmental classes in local schools, and planting of native plants and trees. In 2019, we helped MCL create a program for girls to inspire them to pursue careers in environmental science and conservation. These girls visited the forest for overnight stays, met with inspiring women environmental leaders, and participated in community conservation activities including a river clean-up, a community march, and tree planting. Pictured above are some of the girls, with their teacher, at a 2022 weekend reunion.
