Joanne
As a volunteer teacher in Kenya, Joanne Dwyer was so inspired by her experience that she made it her mission to make a difference.
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Joanne was touched by the relationships she formed with the community and the children she met who lacked basic opportunities and contact with a world beyond Africa. So Joanne created the Elimu Foundation, to provide educational opportunities for children in the UK and East Africa.
“I was inspired by Kenya and by the people I’d met as a volunteer, it’s a hugely inspiring part of the world. I felt it was important to recognise and help teachers there. It’s hard to be a teacher in rural Africa, there’s no real support there. Hopefully I’m helping to change that, even on a very small scale. Goldsmiths supported everything. It helped me realise that I wanted to work in education, but that I still needed to write. And I had to take time to learn about both, to not rush.
It is a very open, non-judgmental, creative place that always felt like a mini-London, it had its own particular energy, and I really enjoyed studying with such a broad mix of people. I still seek that out. The further away from Goldsmiths I get, the more appreciation I have for that time in my life and what it gave me.”
