Freedom Tree: Compassion & Philanthropy Through Real Estate Development

In this inspiring episode of The WealthGenius Podcast, host Alfonso Cuadra sits down with Tara Eruteya, founder of Freedom Tree, to explore her remarkable journey from the nonprofit world to real estate success. Tara shares the origins of Freedom Tree, an organization dedicated to reducing maternal and infant mortality in West Africa, and the powerful impact of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. The conversation dives deep into the challenges and rewards of building schools in Sierra Leone, the role of education in empowering communities, and how real estate investment has helped Tara support her global mission. Alfonso and Tara discuss their shared values of service, leadership, and financial freedom, and how they’re teaming up to change lives.

ABOUT TARA

As the founder and executive director of Freedom Tree, I’ve combined my passion for construction and Real estate with my commitment to philanthropy. We’ve raised funds to build 3 clinics and 2 schools in Sierra Leone, West Africa, aiming to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. Our efforts have been recognized by the local government and the city of Calgary, where we received the Calgary Peace Award in 2012. My experience in real estate and construction complements my charitable work, allowing me to make a meaningful impact in communities in need.

I wake up everyday wanting to make a difference in the lives of those I meet.  I am grateful for life!

https://freedomtree.donorsupport.co/page/FUNGPLXJFCQ

Connect with Tara:

• www.freedomtree.ca   https://www.freedomtree.ca/
• YouTube - Freedom Tree 
• Instagram - @freedomtree.ca 
• Facebook - @freedomtree.ca  
• TikTok

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Tara Eruteya, Alfonso Cuadra, Carl Richards

Carl Richards  00:05

Welcome to The WealthGenius Podcast brought to you by the Expand Wealth Real Estate Fund. Expand your wealth by investing in apartment buildings. Go to ExpandWealthFund.com to book your info session. The WealthGenius Podcast, strategies for multifamily real estate investing, mindset, community, success. The WealthGenius Podcast with your host, The Godfather of Real Estate, Alfonso Cuadra, who has expansive experience in business and massive success as a real estate investor. The WealthGenius Podcast, let's dive into today's episode.

Alfonso Cuadra  00:44

Hello, hello, hello!

Tara Eruteya  00:46

Alfonso, good to see you again.

Alfonso Cuadra  00:48

Oh, I'm so excited. We have so much to talk about. 

Tara Eruteya  00:51

That's right.

Alfonso Cuadra  00:51

First things first. When did we meet? Do you remember?

Tara Eruteya  00:54

Yeah, I do remember. We met in 2019, no 2018!

Alfonso Cuadra  00:59

Wow that's increidble!

Tara Eruteya  01:00

And you were doing, you were doing a presentation, like a weekend workshop-

Alfonso Cuadra  01:04

Yes.

Tara Eruteya  01:05

-On real estate. And you were such a convincing and flamboyant and amazing speaker, you had me on the edge of my seat the whole weekend.

Alfonso Cuadra  01:13

Well, I appreciate that. Appreciate and you're very memorable. And I remember you reached out during covid or something, yeah. And then here you are,

Tara Eruteya  01:21

That's right! 6 years later.

Alfonso Cuadra  01:23

Here you are. The more I get to know you, the more intrigued I am, the more inspired I am. You know, as you know, we have some similar values-

Tara Eruteya  01:33

That's right.

Alfonso Cuadra  01:34

-in terms of giving and the things that we want to do and serve it being in service to other people. And so I want to get into that. And I also want to get into the real estate and all the amazing things that you've been doing. So let's go back to how you got started.

Tara Eruteya  01:48

How I got started in real estate? 

Alfonso Cuadra  01:50

Well, no, let's talk about Freedom Tree, right? Because we have a lot of things to talk about, right? 

Tara Eruteya  01:54

That's right, yeah. 

Alfonso Cuadra  01:54

So, so let's go because I think it's interesting, because I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, Freedom Tree became before the before the real estate.

Tara Eruteya  02:04

It did. It did. There was sort of simultaneous. Obviously, I've carried a heart for real estate for a long time, but I've also carried a heart for Freedom Tree for a very long time.

Alfonso Cuadra  02:14

Okay, so let's start there. 

Tara Eruteya  02:17

Let's start there.

Alfonso Cuadra  02:17

So what is, first of all, what is freedom tree, and why are you so passionate about it? And how did you get started with that?

Tara Eruteya  02:25

So, Freedom Tree is a nonprofit that I started, and the goal of the organization is to reduce the rates of maternal and infant mortality in West Africa. You know, the long story of how I got started, I, you know, it's funny, we just moved and I was going through all of my stuff. My mom had handed me all these things, you know, from from the house, and she'd kept a letter that I had written as a school project from when I was 14 years old. And I was reading this letter, and letter was to a newspaper editor back in England, because that's where I grew up. And I was critiquing his article in the newspaper because he'd written about the plight of kids in Bangladesh. And I was saying, you need to do something about this. These are kids younger than me.

Alfonso Cuadra  02:29

Don't just write about it!

Tara Eruteya  02:56

Exactly. Don't just write about it. These are kids my age and younger. They should not be working in sweatshops making clothes for us in the Western world. And it was interesting because I forgot all about and I read and I thought, wow. So, you know, I had obviously a heart for justice and passion from a young age, from very early on, and that's also why I'm very passionate about working with young people, because I don't think that we should diminish what they carry in their hearts and the potential that they have to change things and to change the world. So, you know, I've carried that for a long time, and I finally got the opportunity. I put up my hand one day, and we there was a mission trip, going from my church to Sierra Leone. And back then it was, it was one year after the Civil War, so it wasn't the safest of places to go. But I put up my hand and I said, "Hey, I'm-

Alfonso Cuadra  03:48

And how long? How long ago was that? 

Tara Eruteya  03:50

That was 2000 and uh, 2005.

Alfonso Cuadra  03:52

Wow. 

Tara Eruteya  03:52

That was almost 20 years ago. So will be 20 years next year? 

Alfonso Cuadra  03:56

Wow. 

Tara Eruteya  03:56

Yeah. The first time I went, and I was just, you know, just graduated university, so no money, and didn't know how I was going to come up with the funds actually to go on this trip, but I was just really passionate about seeing a difference made. And not much details back then, this was even, you know, early days of Facebook. So pre Facebook, pre anything on the internet. So whatever you could find about Sierra Leone, you had to go to the library and look up and see, you know, movies and that sort of thing. And I just went, I went on this trip for two weeks, and what I saw shocked me. I saw women crying desperately because they hadn't seen a doctor for their children in a long time. I saw kids who were just running around, not going to school because there were no schools, because they were all being bombed during the war and a lot of helplessness and really terrible situations, and I saw that they were they could be fixed. It wasn't the end of the world. They could be fixed. But Sierra Leone needed some help, because it was just right after the war. And this is a lesser known country, not a lot of resources, not a lot of clout in the international scale. And so I came back to Calgary, Alberta at the time, and I said, people were asking me, "how was your trip? What happened? You know, how did it go?" And I said, "somebody needs to do something." And I kept saying that, because, like most people, like carried the expectation that somebody out there is going to go solve all these issues that we see around us, whether it's homelessness or what have you. So, you know, I expected that, and it took me about two years to realize, you know, maybe that somebody is me, because nobody else was stepping up to do it. I got another opportunity to go, and I went again and then again and again, and it just sort of grew from there. And then people started coming with me, and then we started doing projects. And, you know, after 10 years of doing that, then I thought, oh, you know, maybe I should start a nonprofit and run all this money through so it can be transparent, and you know, all of that, and that's how the nonprofit so I never intended to start a nonprofit ever, it just started because we were doing- 

Alfonso Cuadra  05:48

You had another job before. 

Tara Eruteya  05:49

Oh, yeah, full time job. 

Alfonso Cuadra  05:50

What were you doing? 

Tara Eruteya  05:51

I was an accountant and an operations manager and eventually CEO of a construction company. 

Alfonso Cuadra  05:57

Nice.

Tara Eruteya  05:57

So I was building this career alongside also building for freedom tree is and I would take my vacation time and go to Sierra Leone. 

Alfonso Cuadra  06:05

Wow. 

Tara Eruteya  06:05

Yeah.

Alfonso Cuadra  06:06

And why did you name the organization Freedom Tree?

Tara Eruteya  06:09

It's a great question. One of the things I saw in my heart, the vision that I had for this organization, was that there's a big, massive tree that I see that grows quite a lot in different places in Australia, it's called the cotton tree. It's huge, and when it rains, you can come under this tree and you will actually have shelter from the rain. When it's sunny, you can come under the tree and you can have shelter from the sun, because it's so big and bushy. And I named Freedom Tree that, because I felt like anyone who comes into contact with the organization needs to come into a place of freedom. And I believe that freedom is not the right to do whatever you want to do. It is the freedom to be who God has called you to be. And so you are free because you're doing exactly what you were made to be, what you were born to do. You're being Alfonso, or you're being yourself. That's freedom. And freedom is that whatever you were made to, whatever that looks like, you know, to do the you come into a place of freedom. What if it's a job or a career, what have you? So that you know, if it's a kid that's interaction with our organization that we sponsor, they become free because they're able to be who they were called to be because we were able to sponsor them. Or a mom that doesn't die giving birth, or a volunteer that comes on our trip and finds the freedom in "Wow, this is I love doing this, and so I feel free." So that's why it's called the Freedom Tree.

Alfonso Cuadra  07:23

Yeah. So the vision, the mission that we have in WealthGenius is to inspire the world to create financial freedom. 

Tara Eruteya  07:32

There you go.

Alfonso Cuadra  07:32

Right? And we were looking for an icon, because, you know, we put, you know, this messaging goes in all of our marketing material and everything. And so we were looking for an icon of what freedom means. We put freedom and you see what images pop up, so we can find some sort of icon to match it. And it was like Breaking Chains. You're breaking a chain, and that's kind of like the biggest image. And then you saw the Dove, or whatever, freedom and all kinds of other stuff. And as you know, this passion of creating financial freedom for people and making sure people have time freedom, which is most important, led me on this quest to educate young people, you know, with anything that has to do with financial freedom, entrepreneurship, leadership, soft skills, sales leadership, all the things that I think young people need, because I feel like they were left behind, and young people are being left behind here, not just in Canada, not just in Toronto, but globally, I think, and they don't have the skills. And so I started a foundation, as you know, and it's The Cuadra Youth Foundation, and the mandate is to, you know, support young people globally, right? So, we have a mission to put a million young people through this, through this program. 

Tara Eruteya  08:48

Amazing. 

Alfonso Cuadra  08:49

We wanted to go to developing nations, right? I come from Latin America, and, you know, I remember not having any access to any information when it comes to finances or anything like that. So I thought, you know, it'd be great if we can go to some developing nations and and inspire people. And you know, I know that we can have more of an impact if we did that. And so we went to, you know, we went to a few schools at Dominican Republic. We brought school supplies. And I'm talking to the teacher there, and I'm saying, I want to bring more education. She's like, that's great. But right now we're getting kicked out of our school, right? So the the owner had sold the lot or whatever, and they're gonna and they're gonna move somewhere else, and they're looking for a building, and can we help her a building? I was like, absolutely. And I was like, Well, what the hell do I know about you know, doing this, right, and you want to help, you, you're in a position where you can help, but you also you don't have the infrastructure to be able to do it. And I left feeling sad, right? Because this is something that if I want to do this in these developing nations, if I want to create an impact, some of these young people don't even have schools that they can go to. And I remembered, boom, or I think you sent me a. A video. I think, I think you sent me a video, as I'm going through this process, you sent me a video where you were already there. And I remember, of course, we know each other for so long. You're a WealthGenius member, and I'm like, this is perfect. It's like a match made in heaven, because you have the infrastructure

Tara Eruteya  10:17

That's right. 

Alfonso Cuadra  10:17

And you know, we want to be in a position where we can support that those initiatives. And you said, I'm building a school, and I'm like, let me help you. Let's do it. And so why a school? Why Sierra Leone, why you know? Why is this important to you?

Tara Eruteya  10:34

Right. For me, I I feel very, very fortunate to have grown up in the family that I grew up in, because my parents really prioritized their education, and education was the gateway to so many things. You know, we take that for granted here in Canada, because everybody goes to school. It's free, it's accessible, like it really is up to you. 

Alfonso Cuadra  10:53

You take it for granted. 

Tara Eruteya  10:54

You take it for granted people, you know, but the rest of the world is not like that. Not everybody gets the opportunity to be able to school. Some people can't afford to some people don't have a school to go to, or some people don't get good quality education to have. And it provides a gateway and a great foundation, because when you can get educated, you can make choices, you can be empowered. You can read and write. You can I can have a conversation with you that's intelligent. I know about history. I can, you know, I can go on to further education. I can become a doctor, a lawyer, an investor, an accountant, or I can negotiate with those types of people. So education is the key to empowerment. It's also one of the biggest keys to lifting people out of poverty and healthcare. So the higher educated a woman is, the less likely she is, by giving birth, for each level of education that she completes, that chance of her dying goes down by 10% so if you can get her to university, the chances of her dying is almost zero. And so that's very, very important. And the reason is she becomes more empowered to make better choices for herself, for her children, for her family and and same with men actually, because the more empowered they are, you know, the better choices that they make. So education is so important. And you know, the the old thing that we hear all the time, Teach a man to- you know, give a man a fish. You feed him for a day, but teach him to fish- giving somebody education is like teaching them to fish. 

Alfonso Cuadra  10:54

Yes.

Tara Eruteya  12:15

And we have, you know, Freedom Tree has been in operation now for over 10 years. And so I've seen, I've had the opportunity to see children that we've invested in, who've now graduated, are working, have a job, of started a business, and then they're able to take care of themselves, their kids and their families. And like, wow. Like when I saw you were, you know, starving and barely had anything to eat, and now you're taking care of four, five other people, because you are empowered to be able to do that. And so it becomes a lifeline to help people. Because, you know, the thing about poverty is, one of the bad things about poverty is how it makes people feel it makes them feel less than makes you feel like you're powerless, yeah, you know, makes you feel like you're a beggar. You know, you just take what you can get. But education is the opposite of that, and so handing out money to people is not the answer 

Alfonso Cuadra  13:04

Yes, I agree, I agree.

Tara Eruteya  13:05

But giving them Yeah, but giving them a means to get out of where they're from is, you know, the key. And there's so many stories like you and I both know, so many stories of great men and women who came from nothing, but because of education, became everything. 

Alfonso Cuadra  13:18

Yeah.

Tara Eruteya  13:18

Nelson Mandela, you know Mahatma Gandhi. You know people who have come from obscure backgrounds, but because they got into the right school, the right education of the right system, you know, were able to get themselves out of poverty. So that's why we do it. That's why we do it. In Sierra Leone in particular, 67% of their schools were destroyed during the war.

Alfonso Cuadra  13:39

Yeah, and let's clarify, you're not from there, you're- you're Nigerian, 

Tara Eruteya  13:43

yeah, yeah. That's right.

Alfonso Cuadra  13:44

Like descent. Were you born there?

Tara Eruteya  13:45

I was born in Montreal, yeah, Nigerians go everywhere. You'll find them everywhere. You'll find them in Iceland. You'll find them in Russia, everywhere. So, yeah. So I was born in Montreal. 

Alfonso Cuadra  14:00

Seven- there's 7 million Salvadorians in El Salvador there's 10 million outside of El Salvador.

Tara Eruteya  14:05

They go places, yeah. 

Alfonso Cuadra  14:09

So what I love is being in this opportunity to be able to support this cause. I have an influence, and I want to use that influence to support this very cause. I want to have everything. Everything I have is going to be pointing here. It's amazing. So we're going, we're going actually time stamp this two weeks from now, yeah, two weeks from now, we're in July, headed into July, and I'm excited. I got my shots, my whatever pills and all that.

Tara Eruteya  14:41

Malaria pills, yeah.

Alfonso Cuadra  14:42

Helene was taking care of everything. I didn't know what, what was going on, but they just went Bah-bah-bah-bah. I'm like, Whoa.

Tara Eruteya  14:49

The yellow fever is like, that one can be a little owey in the tendons, Yeah.

Alfonso Cuadra  14:52

So in the show notes, people can have an opportunity to donate, 

Tara Eruteya  14:57

Yes.

Alfonso Cuadra  14:57

Right? And when they donate, you know, let's be a little bit transparent, because we'll put the link to go to exactly that school, Project Bhlama school. And what is- how we doing this?

Tara Eruteya  15:10

Yeah, so every penny that you donate, so we have complete transparency, every- all the money that comes into freedom tree, 10% goes to admin, then that's just to cover our administrative expenses, and then the 90% goes to the project, or wherever it's designated to. And so in this case, for the school, so then 90% of that would go straight down to actually building the school and putting it together. And we have a budget, you know, when you talk about infrastructure, this is something that I've done for now for over a decade. And so monitoring, you know, how this is being built, who's doing the building, making sure that we're going there every week to check on stuff. We buy the materials ourselves, and in creating accountability systems for the community and the people around the community to make sure that not just that the built school is built well, but that once it's built, it's handed over to the right people. The government is going to be involved in this, because they are actually going to be paying the teachers once the school is built, and they are going to be funding the school feeding program. So there's a feeding program for the kids in there. It's important that all of that work we, you know, Freedom Tree, we do all of that work beforehand. So you're not just like, Oh, it's a good idea. Let's go build a school and you stop building something. But you want to make sure that, if you know, God forbid something happens, we have to pull out of the country that all these things are not going to fall down, these systems and structures, because it's not dependent on us. It's not about us. In the end, it's about educating these kids to perpetuity. And this is the third school that we would have built in the country when you come and maybe I'll show you.

Alfonso Cuadra  16:36

The oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. And we're going to be setting up a session for them to talk about entrepreneurship and all the skills, all the stuff that you know really, really, really resonates with me, and I'm excited, because we're not just going there to teach few things. We're going to leave something behind, and people have an opportunity to participate in that. You know, the link is in this video, or wherever you're watching this podcast, and people will have the opportunity to donate directly. Can we talk about the different donation.

Tara Eruteya  17:09

Donation levels? Yes, yeah. So we have a platinum sponsor that's 20,000 and up. And so if you give 20,000 you will have a classroom named after you, or whatever name that you want to give, it as well as another area of the school, so maybe the teacher's quarters or the feeding station or the playground. So you'll have two areas, and then for a gold sponsor, so that's $10,000 and up, you'll have a classroom named after you, and, of course, an invite to the opening ceremony as well, and a plaque, a plaque with your name on it in the school. And then we have our silver, so that's $5,000 for donations, and you'll have a plaque with your name on it. You'll get invited to the virtual so we can probably create something virtual for the opening ceremony and have a video recording, you know, personalized thank you for you. And then we have our bronze. So the bronze is $2,500 if you donate $2,500 you will also get your name on a plaque in the school. So, yeah. So there's lots of different-

Alfonso Cuadra  18:07

And right now, these young people are going to school underneath a tree.

Tara Eruteya  18:11

Underneath a tree.

Alfonso Cuadra  18:12

Right? 

Tara Eruteya  18:12

And it's not, it's not one of those big cotton trees. So when it rains, they all go inside, yeah.

Alfonso Cuadra  18:16

And so this donation is going directly to this project. 

Tara Eruteya  18:20

That's right.

Alfonso Cuadra  18:20

If you follow the if they follow the link, it's going to go directly to this project. And this is a building that's going to be there for years and years and years and years going to educate hundreds and even 1000s of young people that are going to go through this education, through the school.

Tara Eruteya  18:33

300 every year. Yeah.

Alfonso Cuadra  18:35

I love it. I love it so much. I love it so much. Now shifting gears a little bit, because I know that you are in a position where we're in, we're serving right, like you said, 10% for admin, but that, you know, just keeps a light on. So at some point you had to figure, had to pivot and figure out what you're going to do with yourself, you know. So real estate is what you chose. 

Tara Eruteya  18:58

That's right. 

Alfonso Cuadra  18:59

So give me a little glimpse of what you've done in real estate.

Tara Eruteya  19:03

Yeah. So, you know, like most people, I started off in my real estate investing by buying my own home, you know, buying a condo and and for years, and I bought another condo. But you get stuck pretty quickly because, you know, even though you have the heart and the passion for it, like, I don't know how to do this, you know, and you're trying to figure out what most people do use, you end up buying more and more and more residential one at a time, but you can max out pretty quickly with that. And so I came to a point where, honestly, I got it into my head and said, I need a mentor. I just need somebody who's done this before. And that's where I met you, and I pursued you for what two years. I was like, "Hey, I'm also when you mentor me". And you were like, "Oh, well, yeah." And this is before you started WealthGenius. Well, you know, and there was different reasons why, you know, you couldn't at that time. And then I called you again, I think at one point during covid, and I said, "Hey, Alfonso, so what about that mentorship thing? I'm still looking for a mentor. It's been two years. I haven't gotten started". And he said, You know, I just started this thing called WealthGenius. Do you want to join? And I was like, "Okay." And I remember clearly. I Was on maternity leave at the time, because I think I was breastfeeding my son when I was talking to you.

Alfonso Cuadra  20:04

Yes.

Tara Eruteya  20:04

And and so I joined WealthGenius, and the rest is history. And what I've learned through that has been, has been invaluable, because it's being the gateway to sort of getting to the commercial, you know, getting into, you know, playing with the big boys, so to speak. And so that's been really that's been really fun.

Alfonso Cuadra  20:22

Yeah. And so you're taking down bigger projects. And I love that. You know, there's expansion on all categories of your life, right? 

Tara Eruteya  20:30

Yeah. 

Alfonso Cuadra  20:31

So congratulations. 

Tara Eruteya  20:33

Thank you

Alfonso Cuadra  20:33

On everything. 

Tara Eruteya  20:34

Thank you, 

Alfonso Cuadra  20:35

And thank you for stopping by. All the information people are going to need is going to be in the show notes.

Tara Eruteya  20:40

Yes.

Alfonso Cuadra  20:41

But I want to know what's a quote that you live by?

Tara Eruteya  20:44

A quote that I live by? See you at the top!

Alfonso Cuadra  20:48

I love it, I love it. See you in the top, guys. You heard it here. Thank you, Tara, thank you for coming by, and Alfonso loves you, and we'll see you all at the top. 

Tara Eruteya  20:58

That's right. Thank you.

Carl Richards  21:02

Thanks for listening to The WealthGenius Podcast, presented in part by Expand Investor Conference, December 13 to 15th at Western Harbor Castle Toronto. Get your tickets now at wealthgenius.ai/expand. If you have a question or comment about something you heard today, reach out to the Godfather via social media or email him anytime. All that information is in the show notes. And of course, don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode of The WealthGenius Podcast. The WealthGenius Podcast, until next time see you at the top!