Meet Amanda Obidike, Founder of STEM-i Makers Africa and a Mentor in the New York Academy of Science. As part of the ChangeMaker’s Global Voices Series, she spoke Diane Greer of ChangeMakers Donegal ahead of International Women’s Day 2023. This year’s themes are Equity and Innovation.
In this 10-minute interview, Amanda talks about her work in Africa, to connect young women to role models and the world of STEM. She offers advice ‘to the women of the world’, to embrace collaboration in all spheres of life. She shares the saying: ‘when you empower women, the woman empowers her community’.
A message of empowerment from Nigeria to Donegal
Amanda sent a special message to the women of Donegal. Because the theme for IWD 2023 is equity and innovation, we introduced Amanda to Donegal women at an International Women’s Day event hosted by our main partner, Inishowen Development Partnership and Women’s Collective Ireland-Donegal. The event celebrated women ‘just like you’ and saw local women nominate someone inspiration from their lives. Amanda encouraged women to be free to dream and excel and to embrace learning amongst their peers. This chimes very well with the adult global citizenship education of ChangeMakers Donegal. She finishes her message with a call to arms to ‘stand together in the embrace equity hug’.
About Amanda Obidike
Amanda Obidike is the founder of STEMi Makers Africa, an organization addressing the underrepresentation of young women and girls in STEM and the fragmented education system by training teachers and students in STEM Education. Amanda is a key champion for championing diversity in technology and innovation for women and has been recognised for her work with a number of prestigious global awards.
She is also an international speaker and a Mentor in the New York Academy of Science, Cherie Blair Foundation, the 1 million Women in Tech, and Global thinkers for Women where she lends her voice, knowledge, and serves as a role model to girls in Africa. She currently serves on the Leadership Team of the 500 Women Scientists, USA and Trustee Board of the MAI Foundation.
THREE INISHOWEN towns are aiming to secure Fairtrade status ahead of Fairtrade Fortnight 2023.
Buncrana is currently in the running to be named Inishowen’s third Inishowen town [Carndonagh and Moville have already received the prestigious title], with Ballyliffin and Clonmany setting their sights on ‘Fairtrade Community’ status.
As part of the campaign, ChangeMakers Donegal has been working with volunteers in the local communities and is now inviting Inishowen shoppers to buy fair trade products this February during Fairtrade Fortnight which runs from 27 February to 12 March.
Myra McAuliffe, Project Coordinator with ChangeMakers explains how encouraging people to buy Fairtrade products, such as tea, coffee, bananas, chocolate and even flowers and cotton with the Fairtrade mark can make a difference.
“Most of us enjoy a cup of tea or coffee but did you know everyday items such as these provide an opportunity to act in solidarity with the people who produce the goods?” explained Myra.
“The Fairtrade movement works with farming co-operatives, businesses, and governments to make trade fair for farmers and workers. It provides safer working conditions and fairer pay while for shoppers it means high quality, ethically produced products.”
To support the Buncrana efforts, ChangeMakers are inviting Ugandan Tea Farmer Innocent Owomuhangi to Inishowen to speak to the community about how important it is to them that we buy Fairtrade items where possible.
The first of these events will take place on Monday 6 March at 1pm in the Exchange Buncrana. This is a public event and everyone is invited to come along and listen what Innocent has to say and how local people’s shopping choices make a difference to the people in his community in Uganda.
Buncrana councillor Jack Murray, who is also chairperson of the Fairtrade Buncrana committee said they have small changes within the council, ensuring that fairtrade tea and coffee is available in all Donegal County Council buildings. It will also be available in local restaurants and cafes, where possible.
“This Fairtrade Fortnight we encourage Inishowen people to buy Fairtrade,” said Cllr. Murray.
“We look forward to welcoming Innocent Owomuhangi from Uganda to Inishowen for events in Buncrana and Clonmany.
“Everyone in the community; whether you are a shopper, a chef or business owner, is welcome to come and meet Innocent who is a worker on the Kayonza Growers Tea Factory Limited in Uganda and an Ambassador for Fairtrade International.”
Cllr. Murray added: “While buying Fairtrade is an act of solidarity with people in places like Africa and Colombia, it is also another step towards being a sustainable region.”
Meanwhile other Inishowen events as part of the Fairtrade fortnight include:
On Sunday 5 March at 7:30pm, the monthly Disappear Here Film Club is back with a climate change themed film planned and a post film community discussion with Innocent Owomuhangi, Fairtrade International Ambassador.
Carndonagh residents can attend the Carndonagh Fairtrade Coffee Morning, in association with Spraoi agus Sport Mother and Toddler Group on Saturday 4 March at 11am.
Fairtrade Dunfanaghy are organising a Fairtrade Coffee morning on Thursday 9 March, location and time to follow on our social media pages.
Local Schools to embrace Fairtrade
Local schools are also getting behind the campaign; Crana College in Buncrana is applying for status as a Fairtrade School. Its students will present a stall at SuperValu Buncrana showcasing Fairtrade products and they will partake in an education workshop with ChangeMakers Donegal, the Irish Aid funded community project, which champions the cause to think global and act local in Donegal. Primary school students at Scoil Phadraig, Rasheeny, will learn about Fairtrade too in a workshop with Patsy Toland of ChangeMakers Donegal and WorldWise Global Schools.
Donegal Businesses; Start Your Sustainability Journey Today
Sustainability for Everyone – start your journey today and gain your passport to a better tomorrow.
ChangeMakers is looking for six local businesses in Donegal to take part in our new certified Sustainability Passport programme.
What is it?
A certified, guided, free programme designed to help businesses take more sustainable actions in their workplaces and communities.
Made up of five ‘how to’ guides providing key facts and figures, suggested actions and their measurable impacts, and an online link to resources across five routes:
Route 1. Water and Energy
Route 2. Reusing and Recycling
Route 3. Ethical and Responsible consumption
Route 4. Biodiversity and Gardening
Route 5. Equality and Inclusion in our communities
How Does It Work?
Embark on your Sustainability Passport journey in three easy steps:
Step 1 - Attend an engaging and informative ‘how to’ webinar for Social Enterprises (time to be decided in consultation with the local businesses that sign up).
Step 2 – Consult with a designated mentor who will guide you on your chosen route and what actions to take.
For example, if your chosen route is Water & Energy, then you could take simple actions such as adjusting eco setting on appliances to power-saving mode, installing sensors and timers throughout your premises and switching to LED lighting to reduce usage, decrease emissions and save money.
Step 3 – Share your actions (via an ‘easy to use’ online platform) to gain certification, while creating a resource of local-based knowledge, tips and learning that helps your whole community progress along their sustainability journey, with local and global benefits.
To start your Sustainability Passport journey today and ensure a better tomorrow for you and your community, click on the SIGN UP button below to contact Kate at ChangeMakers Donegal.
Fairtrade Fortnight is 27 February to 12 March this year.
Celebrate Fairtrade in Inishowen with a special event featuring Jose Daniel Aguilar, a coffee farmer/coop manager from Honduras, who will speak to the local community about how our choices impact the lives of many.
The Bookless Bookclub Series: Let’s talk about Home
ChangeMakers Donegal presents a new Bookless Bookclub Series on the theme of Home, Homeless and the Global Refugee Crisis.
Over four evening workshops, on Zoom, join ChangeMakers Donegal’s Francine Blache Breen and Annette Patton to talk about home. Using poetry, art and film to discuss important topics that matter in our collective lives today, we create a space to talk, learn and reflect with like-minded people.
Be inspired, be informed, to take action as a global citizen in your local community today.
We ask that you sign up to all four workshops at Eventbrite. Taking place across four consecutive Wednesday evenings, the dates are:
Wednesday 22 February, 7pm-9pm on Zoom
Wednesday 1 March, 7pm-9pm on Zoom
Wednesday 8 March, 7pm-9pm on Zoom
Wednesday 15 March, 7pm-9pm on Zoom
All welcome. Sign up to the Bookclub with no books today.
In partnership with Children in Crossfire, we are pleased to offer Vision 2030, a free two-day training on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February 2023.
Suitable for #Donegal/#North West based #Youth Workers and secondary school teachers involved in community projects on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February 2023. It’s an OCN NI Level 3 certified course which focuses on local and global justice issues and explores how these issues can be brought to life.
“For me, the opportunity to deal with youth work but to bring in those areas of, more global citizenship and looking at not just our own wee towns and communities but also being able to look further afield at the impact we have but also the impact we could have, is empowering,” said a course participant.
Watch this video to hear more:
To register your interest email: changemakers@inishowen.ie
Originally from London, Eve lives in the Donegal Gaeltacht. In her recent works, Eve has worked with stories, photographs, even recipes, to create immersive experiences that communicate themes of home, emigration, and immigration. Currently her exhibition, The Bridge of Tears is on display at An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny Co. Donegal. The exhibition features her co-facilitator for an up-coming ChangeMakers Donegal workshop, Francine Blaché-Breen.
About Stories of a Home
Now, Eve is collaborating with ChangeMakers Donegal, a community project specialising in Global Citizenship education for adults funded by Irish Aid, and Facilitator and Community Worker, Francine Blaché-Breen to create a new workshop centred around the theme of home. In this workshop, Eve’s input will feature a story exchange where participants are paired and share a story with eachother and then come back together as a group and share their partner’s story as if it were their own.
Bring Your Story
Participants will be asked to share a story or experience of home which they are comfortable sharing. Ideally, people would jot that down in advance of the workshop.
Francine Blaché-Breen will open the workshop talking about housing as a human right, looking at this issue of MICA and its ripple-effect as a social justice issue. Taking a global view, Francine will talk about similar scenarios around the world and the role of the Government and the regulators. This informative, educational, creative, participatory workshop will create a safe space to relate to each-other and others around the world. Pre-registration is essential, see booking link below.
Notes from Cloughaneely
Eve Li sent ChangeMakers some notes and photos of past work. Here, we share some excerpts of other past works of Eve’s to give people a glimpse into her practice ahead of the new ChangeMakers Donegal Stories of a Home workshop on Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 7pm – 8:30pm. At Stories of a Home which was especially created for MICA Week 2022, participants will be invited to bring a story about their home with them to Greencastle Community Centre. With an intimate group, we will create a safe space for people to reflect on the true meaning of home. The workshop was inspired by the MICA Week but of course people don’t have to talk about MICA specifically, rather, about what home means. Our intention is that this will create a supportive space for local people.
The Bus Stop
My bus stop installation in Killult about missing things from ‘home’ (London) which was the transport system for this installation: When I first moved here, to Cloughaneely, I moved from London. I had lived there all my life. It was a big change. I couldn’t drive and I lived on farmland. I was isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. So, I lost the independence I had of moving about freely the way I did back home in London. And, where this piece is (Killult main road), it is where the buses stop. But, buses are not frequent here in rural Donegal (or anywhere rural!). So, in the days I couldn’t drive (which was too many years!) I would look out the window here and wish and imagine there’d be something like the London bus and tube service here. Where there are frequent buses every 6-8 minutes. So, if you miss one bus, there’s always the next bus. And, 24 hour buses! I missed the 24 hour buses I would take to get home after a night out. The buses go everywhere in London wherever you live. After 15 years here, I could still tell you which number bus to take to where in London. And, wouldn’t it be lovely to have trains in Donegal? I know there were trains once upon a time here but they are long gone. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we had a rail service up here again? Maybe, an express train from here to Belfast or Dublin!
A Letter from Grace
The Woman’s Group in Pobal Earrasch in Falcarragh where I went to speak about my Bridge of Tears project to ask people’s experiences of emigration. One woman Grace shared her experiences with the group and wrote about her parent’s experiences and her own experiences in this ‘letter’ on paper.
Her community theatre project (an immersive theatre experience),The Bridge of Tears-The Stories of Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Immigrants with An Grianán Theatre, launched on Culture Night Donegal 2022 and the installation is open to the public until December of this year. This immersive experience explores the experiences of Irish immigrants abroad and the experiences of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants who live in Donegal and Ireland. Opening hours there are 9.30 – 3.30 PM Monday to Friday.
Motherhood
This picture was part of the Motherhood Theatre Workshop 2022 I facilitated. As part of the storytelling and helping to write their stories for sharing and performing, participants were given canvas boards to express their stories of Motherhood through drawings. For this exercise, some also wrote their first paragraphs of their monologues in prose, poetry, and song. This participant who now lives in Direct Provision drew a picture of her home in South Africa and her children in front of it where her motherhood journey started.
ChangeMakers Donegal’s Stories of a Home Workshop Booking
🕖 Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 7pm – 8:30pm at Greencastle Community Centre, Donegal.
Pre-registration via Eventbrite is necessary, so participants can receive guidance before the workshop, to reserve your space visit: https://tinyurl.com/25wh8ntd
For more about ChangeMakers Donegal and our exploration of social, economic and environmental issues, visit www.changemakers.ie.
Join Change Makers Joanne Fullerton and Gráinne O’Neill for an introduction to composting ahead of Christmas.
Learn life hacks for reducing food and nutrient waste in the kitchen this Christmas.
Did you know?
Nearly 50% of our household waste could be composted to nurture our soil.
Waste is a global issue which we can all tackle locally and together.
Starter-kit
Participants will get a free compost starter kit provided by Donegal County Council.
Start your change journey in the home with something practical such as composting.
Join Joanne and Gráinne in a kitchen setting at the Exchange, Buncrana for the first of a series of hands on informational workshops for all the community.
Join Joanne Butler of ChangeMakers & OURganic Gardens and Gráinne O’Neill of ChangeMakers and Síolta Chroí on World Soil Day 2022.
What can I expect?
A safe space to:
•Explore how we can reconnect with soil in our daily lives in Donegal;
•Look at the practicalities of soil health, with the option to get soil tested if you wish;
•Make the connection between soil health and wider nature restoration by learning about gut health and soil health;
•Think about connecting with soil and the land as healing for mental health and generational healing when it comes to themes of colonialism, capitalism and modern soil management techniques;
•Reflect on the importance of soil in the context of the global challenge of climate change, learning how working the soil can mitigate the excess of carbon in the atmosphere.
According to the United Nations:
•95% of the food we eat comes from soil;
•About 1/3 of our soils are already degraded;
•Over the last 70 years, the level of vitamins and nutrients in food has drastically decreased;
•Globally, over 2 billion people are affected by hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiency
As part of the IFAN MICA Subgroup MICA Week, ChangeMakers Donegal invites you to Stories of the Home, an interactive and informative workshop that brings in the global dimension, looking at housing as a social and economic justice issue.
ChangeMakers Facilitator, Francine Blache Breen will reflect on housing as a human right, similar scenarios from around the world and the role of Government and the regulators.
Theatre-maker Eve Li, will help the group reflect on the meaning of home through story-telling and testimonial, to help people to connect with and express, the true meaning of home.
Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 7pm – 8:30pm.
Places limited to 10 people and early booking advised. To book visit Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/25wh8ntd
