Raising hope

P.E.I. teen fundraising to help vulnerable girls in Ethiopia

Teenager Roisin Mullen is working to keep P.E.I. children – and vulnerable girls in Ethiopia – out of harm’s way.

Roisin, 14, of Canavoy, volunteers with Internet privacy and security lawyer Perry Aftab to teach children about cyberbullying and how to be safe on the Internet.

The Grade 8 Birchwood Intermediate School student also learned of an organization called Hope for Children in Ethiopia, a charity that rescues teenage girls from prostitution.

She wanted to do her part to make a difference.

“I thought it wasn’t right and I thought I should help them,’’ she says.

She set a goal of raising $500, which can be put to great use by the NGO established in November 2000 in response to the staggering AIDS pandemic and its related problems. The organization provides community-based care and support to the growing number of rejected children and disintegrating family structures caused by HIV/AIDS.

The group also provides girls with a safe place to live, job training, personal hygiene education and counselling. When possible, it reunites the girls with their families.

The cost for Hope for Children to put a group of 10 teenage girls through the yearlong program is only $30.

Reaching her fundraising goal will see Roisin able to assist more than 160 girls in Ethiopia.

Roisin, who likes the idea of pursuing a career as a surgeon, has handed out some of her paintings to people who donated money to the cause.

She has also made several bracelets that have already been delivered to girls in Ethiopia.

As of the beginning of this month, Roisin has raised just over $400.

Donations can be made at facebook.com/mullinpei.