“It is important that the marginalized are given a voice,” said Sinkie.

She has given free rein to each member to design their own bracelets. After completion, a small brown bead is added to the product. The bead classifies the bracelet as a HandmAID bracelet and is attached at the end of construction.

Ranging from $3 to $5, each bracelet helps support Create Change. Create Change is a Canadian non-profit organization that provides girls in Ghana with the money to cover school fees such as tuition and supplies. It costs approximately $200 to cover one girl’s secondary school tuition — and HandmAID is nearing its $400 mark.

“No matter how small the act, if it still affects people in a positive way, each act is worth it,” said team member Isadora Donoso.

“Everything starts small,” said Sophia Reinhart. “It’s all about making an effort.”

Christian Legazpi, along with the rest of the team, is really optimistic about HandmAID because the students are working together.

“It’s important that we are helping out other youth because it shows that youth care,” he said. 

And it doesn’t stop there.

Sinkie and co-founder Erin Marshall are determined to meet fundraising goals. The team aspires to raise $1,000, which will provide education for five girls, but they are working at a steady pace one student at a time.

“We have so much that we don’t realize it,” said Marshall. “What Create Change provides for these girls is basic items that many of us don’t even realize we have, but (they) fortify our education.

“Education should be a basic right, but it’s not (in Ghana).”

In addition to fundraising, HandmAID is spreading awareness throughout the school and community as it advertises its work and recruits others to help in the campaign. This “empowers other youth” and allows HandmAID to “keep growing,” said Reinhart.

“As a Catholic, I feel closest to God when I am helping others,” said Sinkie.

She tells of her calling to serve others, realizing that by serving others she is truly serving God. 

“I feel that it is extremely important for all to be granted their rights and I believe that education is one of the most important rights. Giving someone an education means giving someone a voice.”

It is through HandmAID that this team of youth is able to offer a voice through service, said Legazpi.

From this work, the students provide “a better sense of hope” and present these girls with “a real shot to really mould their future into something wonderful.”

(Roque, 17, is a Grade 12 student at Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School in Vancouver, B.C. Read her Q&A at youthspeaknews.org)