Norma Dunning staff writer
The K-State Student Union plays host to many organizations who want to grab the attention of the students on campus. Today, there will be a fundraiser for Zawadi Fund International, which supports the Children and Youth Empowerment Center, or CYEC, in Kenya, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The money raised is for anything and everything at the Children and Youth Empowerment Center”, said Kaitlin Long, sophomore in elementary education, “School fees, shoes, clothing, food and, most importantly, just keeping the lights on at the center. This is the most crucial thing at the CYEC currently.”
Today is the final day the website Local Giving will match 30 percent of the total donations raised. This means that whatever can be gathered today will have an added 30 percent donated to the Zawadi Fund International.
The CYEC was started five years ago by Paul Maina, chairman of Zawadi Club. According to the CYEC website, one of the center’s main goals is the psychosocial reintegration of the youth: “The aim of this activity line is not so much to promote any particular way of thinking or acting but to facilitate self understanding and equip participating young people with the tools for healthy interaction with their social and general environment.”
The center was established to help many different types of children and youth.
“The Children and Youth Empowerment Center is a center for children who have been in vulnerable situations, maybe orphans or living on the street, or the families are unable to care for them. The center houses and feeds about 150 children currently from ages 4 to 22,” Long said.
Long said he “encourages students to stop by and to learn more about the CYEC because every little bit counts.”