Every day, people are doing legendary things. They climb mountains, they run marathons, they fight injustice and poverty. Gifts in wills are lesser known, but equally legendary acts in the way they support our work.
That’s why we’re taking part in Remember A Charity in your Will Week.
Meet Progressio’s own Living Legends
You don’t have to take on high diving or wing flying to be a Living Legend!
Here are 4 of Progressio’s very own Living Legends. Each one of them of them does something extraordinary to help others.
Ana Rita Abreu
Ana Rita’s harvest increased after receiving training and technical advice from Progressio’s agroforestry and sustainable farming specialist, Bernardo Lopez. Now, she and her husband, Victor, are working with twelve others in their neighbourhood to restore pockets of land by planting coffee and fruit trees, such as lemon and mango, and producing organic fertilizers for shared and individual use in the community. ‘It is a work of union and solidarity,’ says Ana Rita. Ana’s generosity of spirit and the way she works so hard with such a winning smile, make her a one of Progressio’s very own living legends. For Ana Rita legacy giving means 'better farming, better food, and healthier lives'.
Joanna McMinn
Joanna (right) took a brave step into the unknown when she left her life in lush, green, Ireland to take up a two year placement as a Progressio development worker in Somaliland – one of the world’s harshest and most arid environments. Having established a career working for women’s empowerment, Joanna wanted to work in solidarity with women in another country. She took her skills and expertise to local organisation NAGAAD and supported them in their mission to increase women’s political participation. Joanna helped developed leadership skills among the Somalilander living legends she worked with as they blaze the trail for women’s rights in an incredibly patriarchal culture.
Aidan Bruynseels
Struck by the resilience of people he met on a Progressio International Citizen Service volunteer placement in Zimbabwe, Aidan is going the extra four miles as he takes on the 50km Royal Parks Ultra Marathon. He’s raising money to fund Progressio’s ‘living legend’ development workers as they share their skills and advocate for change. Aidan’s solidarity with Zimbabwe is an inspiration and he’s a living legend too. But you don’t have to run 50km to be a living legend (phew!). After taking care of your loved ones, leaving a gift in your will to a charity you care about helps the work live on.
Carmen Medina
If a living legend is someone who inspires those around them, then Progressio’s country representative, Carmen Medina, certainly qualifies. Whenever Progressio’s International Citizen Service volunteers return from placements in El Salvador, they say the same thing: ‘Carmen is amazing!’ Having worked tirelessly for decades to promote women’s rights and prevent gender-based violence, Carmen has played an important role in pioneering Progressio’s work on HIV and masculinities. Now, Carmen is inspiring a new generation of activists passionate about ending poverty and injustice around the world by supporting youth in El Salvador and from the UK to confront the environmental challenges of our time.
Gifts in Wills are equally legendary acts in the way they support our work
Over the last 3 years, legacies have allowed us to train and support over 3,000 people more than we would otherwise have been able to, and to touch the lives of many thousands more.
In the years to come, with the help of these legendary gifts we want to send even more development workers to share their skills with more local organisations and communities, so more people with least power and least wealth can take the lead in achieving lasting change for themselves.
Become a Living Legend
Writing a will is one of the most important things you will ever do. After you’ve taken care of your loved ones, you too can become a living legend by including a charity you care about.
