Charles Wratto Foundation
Donation protected
In July 2014, my friend, Charles Wratto, travelled to Liberia to reunite with his family after thirteen years in exile. It was a time of absolute joy, but beyond the drum beats and smiling faces welcoming a missing son back home, Charles observed a sad realityIn the district he found his father there were youths and children of all ages with burning passion for education.
Unfortunately, by the time these wonderful children complete their primary school education which is currently a two hours walk away from their village; they will have to choose between walking a three days journey to the nearest high school and becoming farmers.
This experience led him to profoundly reflect on how lucky we are to receive an education without stress. Hence, he decided to raise awareness on their situation.
Fortunately, you too can help. Let’s join Charles and use the power of the internet tobuild a high school for these outstanding children.
I have met a ton of people in my lifetime, but this man and his story are beyond amazing!
I met Charles while he was giving speeches in the US. And I had the unique opportunity of inviting him to meet my family. The things that he has endured are things that you and I can’t even imagine! If you have any questions please click the links below. Usually,I don’t get involved with things like these, but I wholeheartedly believe in Charles and his mission to give back to his homeland.
Three Things You Can Do
1. Spread the word: Please share this message with at least 10 people and ask
them to do the same. By using your address book and the web to spread this
message, we can reach broad scale and be part of a large online movement to
secure the future of these children.
2. Learn More: before investing our resources and time into a rural project, it’s
important that we evaluate what the locals have done for themselves and
determine to what extent our efforts will be appreciated by them. Construction
of the school has begun through the Charles Wratto Foundation
http://charleswrattofoundation.org/. Kindly visit this link and see what has been
done by CWF and the parents of these children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWrr50Pqyk.
3. Make a Donation: in addition to sharing this information with your highly
respected family, friends, loved ones and colleagues, you can also make a
financial donation. No amount is too small and every penny donated takes us a
step closer to achieving our goal.
Charles is a Ph.D. student at the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. In 1996, he was captured from school by a rebel group, and along with his colleagues, they were taken to a camp to be executed. He managed to survive, but was recaptured by another rebel group three weeks later. This time, he wouldn’t be as lucky as before. After beating and torturing two young boys and himself, they were told to join the rebel’s cause or be killed.
The memories that followed are painful and haunting. However, in 2001, Charles travelled seven days through the vast forest from Liberia to the Ivory Coast. Fighting another cruel battle to survive as a refugee, he embarked on a two months journey to Mali. Here, he met Belemina Obunge, a Nigerian national who took him in as a son. Through the help of his amazing father, Wratto finished grade school, obtained his BSc
in International Relations, MA in Crisis and Conflict Management, and presently pursuing his Ph.D. in Mechanisms of Indigenous Dispute Resolution.
Charles broke his silence in 2012 and started speaking of his wartime experiences. In September 2013, he was invited as a guest speaker as part of Salisbury University's “One Person Can Make a Difference” lecture series. http://www.salisbury.edu/news/article.html?id=5423 Inspired by his presentation, three graduate students focused their final thesis on the life of a child soldier. During their research, Martin Jones, one of the three students miraculously connected with a surviving family member of Charles through Facebook! He has long lost hope of ever seeing his family again, but upon receiving this incredible news, his joy was unspeakable, and despite the risk of contacting the deadly Ebola virus,
he travelled home to meet his family. Martin Jones used the power of the internet to locate Charles’ family. Today, you too can use it and spread the word. Thank you for getting involved in this life changing journey.
Thank you!!!
Diana
Unfortunately, by the time these wonderful children complete their primary school education which is currently a two hours walk away from their village; they will have to choose between walking a three days journey to the nearest high school and becoming farmers.
This experience led him to profoundly reflect on how lucky we are to receive an education without stress. Hence, he decided to raise awareness on their situation.
Fortunately, you too can help. Let’s join Charles and use the power of the internet tobuild a high school for these outstanding children.
I have met a ton of people in my lifetime, but this man and his story are beyond amazing!
I met Charles while he was giving speeches in the US. And I had the unique opportunity of inviting him to meet my family. The things that he has endured are things that you and I can’t even imagine! If you have any questions please click the links below. Usually,I don’t get involved with things like these, but I wholeheartedly believe in Charles and his mission to give back to his homeland.
Three Things You Can Do
1. Spread the word: Please share this message with at least 10 people and ask
them to do the same. By using your address book and the web to spread this
message, we can reach broad scale and be part of a large online movement to
secure the future of these children.
2. Learn More: before investing our resources and time into a rural project, it’s
important that we evaluate what the locals have done for themselves and
determine to what extent our efforts will be appreciated by them. Construction
of the school has begun through the Charles Wratto Foundation
http://charleswrattofoundation.org/. Kindly visit this link and see what has been
done by CWF and the parents of these children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWrr50Pqyk.
3. Make a Donation: in addition to sharing this information with your highly
respected family, friends, loved ones and colleagues, you can also make a
financial donation. No amount is too small and every penny donated takes us a
step closer to achieving our goal.
Charles is a Ph.D. student at the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. In 1996, he was captured from school by a rebel group, and along with his colleagues, they were taken to a camp to be executed. He managed to survive, but was recaptured by another rebel group three weeks later. This time, he wouldn’t be as lucky as before. After beating and torturing two young boys and himself, they were told to join the rebel’s cause or be killed.
The memories that followed are painful and haunting. However, in 2001, Charles travelled seven days through the vast forest from Liberia to the Ivory Coast. Fighting another cruel battle to survive as a refugee, he embarked on a two months journey to Mali. Here, he met Belemina Obunge, a Nigerian national who took him in as a son. Through the help of his amazing father, Wratto finished grade school, obtained his BSc
in International Relations, MA in Crisis and Conflict Management, and presently pursuing his Ph.D. in Mechanisms of Indigenous Dispute Resolution.
Charles broke his silence in 2012 and started speaking of his wartime experiences. In September 2013, he was invited as a guest speaker as part of Salisbury University's “One Person Can Make a Difference” lecture series. http://www.salisbury.edu/news/article.html?id=5423 Inspired by his presentation, three graduate students focused their final thesis on the life of a child soldier. During their research, Martin Jones, one of the three students miraculously connected with a surviving family member of Charles through Facebook! He has long lost hope of ever seeing his family again, but upon receiving this incredible news, his joy was unspeakable, and despite the risk of contacting the deadly Ebola virus,
he travelled home to meet his family. Martin Jones used the power of the internet to locate Charles’ family. Today, you too can use it and spread the word. Thank you for getting involved in this life changing journey.
Thank you!!!
Diana
Organizer
Diana Plant
Organizer
