Pencil Mountain founder speaks in Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill Liberal
April 28, 2014
By Sera Wong

Young humanitarian Hannah Godefa, 16, will be the special guest speaker May 11 at Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, speaking out about Pencil Mountain and children around the world who do not have the privilege of an education.

Ethiopian-born Miss Godefa, who currently lives in Maple and is a Canadian citizen, is the founder of a Pencil Mountain Project and is responsible for the distribution of 600,000 pencils, school supplies and books in Ethiopia.

She started her original project when she was just 7, having witnessed first-hand the struggles and difficulties others were facing when on a trip to Axum, Ethiopia.

Upon realizing that the way to escape poverty was through an education, Miss Godefa set out to raise an initial goal of 20,000 pencils for Ethiopia. She soon exceeded that number and went on to deliver a speech about the project’s success at the International Day of the Girl in 2011.

She eventually got involved in Innovating for Girls Education. In 2012, her activism impressed her local Member of Parliament, Julian Fantino, so much that Miss Godefa was invited to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

She was further recognized for her humanitarian efforts when UNICEF selected her as its Goodwill Ambassador for Ethiopia and last year she earned the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

After travelling around the world and across Canada to bring attention to the pressing situation in Ethiopia, she will be returning there this summer. Her charitable organization, My Father’s House, is currently working to build an education centre for girls of Ethiopia.

She will speak at the Richmond Hill church worship service at 10:30 a.m., and will stay to speak with congregation members and guests after the service at William Wallace Memorial Hall, where everyone is welcome to enjoy refreshments.

Miss Godefa will be accepting donations for her cause while in Richmond Hill.