It has quite literally been a ground-breaking week for rise, as we FINALLY got out the spade and dug the first foundations for the residential center and business hub for vulnerable youth in Lesotho. Over 70 people turned up to celebrate with us and it was amazing to have the support of the Ministry of Social Development, local and international corporates, the local Chief and community members. Not to mention some of the inspirational youth who will benefit from the new building! None of it would have been possible without our awesome sponsors, stakeholders and partners that give their time, expertise and materials to our cause. Feeling proud here at rise!

Here is an artist’s impression of the residential center that we are NOW BUILDING! It was designed entirely by our in loco fellows and will house 6 girls and 6 boys, age 14+ who will be moved here from the desperately overcrowded GLC Orphanage close by. As well as being a safe home for the youth to live and finish school, the residence will help them transition to independent life as they will be launching their own sustainable small income generating activities. It’s so inspiring to be part of their ideas and to genuinely know that these initiatives will not only support them, but others in the community, for many years to come.

International Workshops – July & August

True to our core values, we work hard to build relationships and link expertise from around the world to make lasting change happen. There is no part of this project that isn’t living and breathing social enterprise and at every turn we equip the fellows, graduates, mentors and young orphans with skills that they can benefit from long term and share with others in the community. We believe this is a dignified and long-term path to development.

Part of this is our International Design & Build Workshops in July and August. These act as a hands on knowledge exchange between local fellows and international students, as well as help raise essential funds to make this project possible. We’re excited to see the results of this as our first cohort of adventurous students arrive from all over the world in July. We have a few places left to fill the workshops, so have extended the deadline for applications until 30th May. More information

Making your dollar stretch even further

BIG NEWS on the fundraising front; our co-founder and principal sponsor BOND events, who run networking events for the architecture industry in North & South America, have agreed to donate $1.67 for every $1 we raise.

Shop on Amazon and do good for the world!

This is doubly exciting, as we’ve signed up for Amazon Smile USA. So if you’re purchasing on Amazon PLEASE use Amazon Smile and put rise international as your charity of choice. What better way to feel good about your shopping! Start now

Words from the fellows….

We thought you might enjoy reading about our Lesotho project first hand; our local fellows have been bravely writing their first blogs, sharing some of their experiences of what it means to them to be part of the rise in loco fellowship team. These heartfelt and often witty words, offer an insight to the huge learning curve and day-to-day adventure these guys are on.

February by Palesa, March by Thandi, and April by Madane.

Coming to New York

Finally, our founder, Daniela Gusman, is going to be attending the Real Estate Weekly Women’s Forum, in NYC on June 5^th. It’s an honor to be invited as the only not-for-profit sponsor to this event, and to be able to share the innovative ideas and work of rise international with the leading innovators across the business spectrum. Daniela will be looking for industry experts with vision, who are keen to build a CSR program within the architecture and design community by partnering with rise. She will also be unveiling the exciting news about the launch of our architecture competition…designing residential houses for low-income families made from locally sourced materials! More about that to come….but if you’re in New York and interested in getting in touch to find out more, pop by and say hello at the event or email directly on [email protected]

Follow us live

Thank you for reading our newsletter and supporting us all here at rise International. Keep your eyes open for news on our build and ongoing work, as well our first step into Facebook LIVE, where we will be screening our guest lecture series at Lerotholi Polytechnic! These fascinating lectures, presented by industry experts, have included some interesting debates exploring many issues, relating to the significance of architecture, building from local materials, sustainable development in vulnerable communities and design failures when customers are not an integral part of the design process of any building, product or service.