Who We Are
Our Board
Chair: Lelouch Zane
OUR CHAIR – Lelouch Zane
Lelouch Zane is an agent of change.
Guided by an incredible empathy for a world a bit more just, he never fails to stand up for what’s right. He cleaned oil spill at Taean in South Korea, weeded Singapore Kranji Marshes, home to endangered birds and stepped up to help build houses for low-income families at Batam in Indonesia. When it became clear to him that little was done to address LGBT causes in Bloomberg Singapore office where he worked, he co-founded LGBT and Ally Community in the Singapore office.
Lelouch worked for Bloomberg, the largest financial media firm, in Singapore and Hong Kong for five years. During this time, he helped enhance the firm’s competitive position in Southeast Asia and Greater China region. To overcome the firm’s challenge of penetrating Southeast Asian markets while in Singapore, he brought more transparency and advancement to the local markets, launched strategic collaborations with central bank of Thailand and secured deals to gain first mover advantage in Thai fixed income market. While in Hong Kong, he led sales campaigns to capitalize on sales opportunities from Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect program.
Currently an MBA student at Columbia Business School, Lelouch chairs the Board with a track record of experience in taking charge and making impacts.
Secretary: Marguerite É. Marty, Esq.
OUR SECRETARY – Marguerite É. Marty, Esq.
Marguerite is a private Attorney. Her private practice focuses on immigration law, including family services, residency and citizenship, consular processing, court representation, and humanitarian relief. She graduated from Columbia Law School, with a Juris Doctor and a Certificate of Achievement in International and Comparative Law. Marguerite is a mother. She has a strong heart in motivating and leading people to understand that “Knowledge is the greatest gift,” a stance that is well in line with The Children of Lavie’s – A gift for a child’s education is the noblest gift one can ever give.
Treasurer:
Megan Lavery Amouzou
OUR TREASURER – Megan Lavery Amouzou
Megan is Director of Admissions for International House, New York, where she plays the challenging role of selecting the best from a vast pool of qualified applicants from over 100 countries to be part of the unique cross-cultural educational experience offered by International House. She holds a B.A. in Foreign Languages from SUNY Oswego. As a working mother who faces the challenges of raising two boys, she has a deeper understanding of the difficulties and sacrifices parents make to support their children’s education.
Special Projects: Brooke Güven
SPECIAL PROJECTS – Brooke Güven
Brooke is an International Banking Lawyer at the New York office of Hogan Lovells US LLP, a global law firm. Prior to Hogan Lovells US LLP, Brooke worked with the International Senior Lawyers Project as a Legal Advisor to the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Brooke received a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School and also holds an M.A. in International Policy. As a mother and attentive to the world around her, she focuses fervently on global development and human rights projects. She expresses excellence and dedication in advocating for every child’s right to education, the tool that brings about change from the ground up.
Technology and Communications Relations: Courtney Tiberio
TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS RELATIONS – Courtney Tiberio
Courtney is a quick and enthusiast problem solver.
Web Designer, Web Developer, Graphic Designer and Content Creator, Courtney is a Tech professional who is passionate about using her skills to make the world a better place. She’s brought that passion to The Children of Lavie, assuring our online presence that syncs with our mission and our identity. Courtney loves gardening, day trips to the river and foraging for wild edibles.
Our Story
Two people identified a need, friends and family joined in to help
The Children of Lavié was founded in 2003 after a trip to Togo, a small country in West Africa, during which the founders observed school aged kids working instead of attending school. The reason for this is not that they are not smart, but rather that public school education is not free and most parents cannot afford the cost of their kids’ education. When The Children of Lavié was founded, the annual fee to attend elementary school, for example, was the equivalent of about $3 for girls and $4 for boys. A child in Lavié, they realized, can get an education for an entire year for less than the cost of seeing the latest movie.
While that seems rather insignificant an amount, to parents in Lavié it is the wage earned after about a week of hard labor and there are other priorities such as feeding and clothing their children. The cost has since increased to the equivalent of $10 per year, and twice as much for middle and high schools kids; an amount still small by first world standards, but insurmountable for the villagers they met.
Education is the path to opportunities and to breaking the cycle of poverty
Upon returning to New York the founders decided to do all they could to make a difference by helping to give the children of Lavié, and other villages throughout West Africa, the opportunity of an education. They know that through school, the great engine of personal development, the sons and daughters of peasants of Lavié, and other villages, can have more opportunities and gain the tools for a brighter future. They began their work in Togo, then Benin, Senegal and Burkina Faso, with a stern focus on raising awareness.
Soon the drive began to pay off: To keep his campaign promise, in September 2008, the President of Togo declared elementary school free. Middle and high schools are still not free. We focus on middle and high school kids, and keep close attention and reach out to the elementary school kids in the villages where the declaration is not always reality due to inadequate enforcement in the field.
To date, we have helped over 1,500 children, who otherwise would not be able to complete or get an education due to the financial limitations of their families, to fulfill their dream of learning to read and write and furthering their education. We ask for your support. A gift for a child’s education is the noblest gift you can ever give.