For Voicez United Co-Founder Stauna Soanes, supporting Wotton Waven Primary School is about much more than donating school supplies. It is a way of giving back to the school and community that played an important role in shaping her life.
That personal connection is at the heart of Ready to Rise: Dominica 2026, the first educational initiative being launched by the nonprofit organization in partnership with Wotton Waven Primary School in the Roseau Valley.
According to a press release from Voicez United, the initiative is designed to help students start the new school year prepared while also giving teachers and the wider school community resources to support learning.
Wotton Waven Primary currently serves 22 students and has a team of five teachers, the principal and an NEP mentor. Supplies for the initiative have been purchased with some room for modest growth in enrollment.
The barrels containing the supplies have already arrived in Dominica and are expected to be released to the Ministry of Education next week. Once they reach the school, Principal Mrs. Langford-Morancie and her team will unpack and organize everything ahead of a special distribution event on Friday, September 4, just days before classes begin on September 7.
Soanes said the project is deeply personal for her. She attended Wotton Waven Primary School during her formative years, as did her siblings. Both of her parents also worked as educators at the school.
She reportedly began giving back in 2021 by personally donating school supplies. Ready to Rise takes that individual effort a step further, creating a structured initiative that aims to bring donors, volunteers, businesses, media and community partners together around educational opportunity.
“Returning the investment to the school and community that helped shape my life is both a privilege and a promise—to invest in the next generation with the same hope that was once invested in me. I hope others are inspired to do the same.”
The release said that the initiative will provide backpacks and essential student supplies such as exercise books, pencils, sketch pads, crayons, markers and rulers. Teachers will receive planners, markers, highlighters, Post-it notes, desk organizers and student rewards.
Classrooms will also receive art, craft and instructional materials, including construction paper, cardstock, paint, craft sticks, pom-poms and fraction pieces.
Ready to Rise will further provide pantry staples, including beans, rice, pasta, oatmeal, tuna, peanut butter, vegetables, breakfast items and basic condiments, offering support that extends beyond the classroom.
