DIRECTOR'S BYOGRAPHY

 

Sunyata Angelina Choyce –

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sunyata is a 27-year-old resident of the Lawrencetown Beach area. She attended Glasgow University in Scotland, the University of Cork in Ireland and Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, receiving a degree in International Development Studies.

Sunyata is the founding director of COLORS International (Children’s Overseas Learning Opportunities and Resources), a non-profit organization that coordinates international children’s aid projects. COLORS is a youth-led organization with a mandate of providing direct and practical assistance to children in need, with the hope of inspiring young people to strive to make positive changes in the world.

South Africa is where COLORS started in 2004, as Sunyata witnessed the needs of the 55 AIDS orphans she worked with daily in a South African Township. From then on COLORS began coordinating down-to-earth projects in the developing world. The projects are focused on education, dental care, basic health care, clothing, and emergency needs. Between developing project plans and tackling important issues, Sunyata takes pride in living with and getting to know the people COLORS assists.

The media and the public responded to the direct and fast-action approach Sunyata’s foundation provided, which enabled the creation of the COLORS distribution program based in Nova Scotia. Throughout the last four years, youth from the program have distributed basic fist aid, dental, and scholastic materials from Sunyata’s foundation headquartered in Lawrencetown N.S, directly to Children’s homes and poverty-stricken homes globally.

Due to Sunyata’s self-motivated work in international development and the coordination of children’s aid programs, she was offered a posting with the United Nations at the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women in the Dominican Republic. Sunyata used this as an opportunity to take COLORS International to a new level by increasing its programs regarding water issues, basic health, and educational programs for sexually abused and vulnerable children.

Sunyata plans to turn her projects into a viable long-tem career with a strong focus on Africa, by seeking financial support from organizations and corporations who recognize the value of the work being done. Sunyata believes that if everyone, in a small way finds a means to help, all those small actions together become a huge global project; spreading individual aid in many directions one person at a time. Suddenly the world seems smaller, we realize we are powerful—and yes one person can make a difference.