Tuktoyaktuk (Dec 11/06) - There might be only 150 students at the Mangilaluk school in Tuktoyaktuk, but their generosity is being felt halfway around the world.

Last month, as part of a UNICEF program called "Schools for Africa," students raised $2,000 for school construction in Malawi.

Grade 6 teacher Robin Hayslip, who along with Grade 5/6 teacher Anne-Marie Cameron, helped organize the program, said she was overwhelmed by the students' desire to help.

"We've been doing UNICEF funding for years and every year we challenge students to do better," she said.

"We've very proud of them, and we think they deserve recognition."

Hayslip added that students raised money through individual donations and bake sales, without going door-to-door.

According to UNICEF, proceeds from the Schools for Africa program will help build classrooms in Malawi, which is one of the world's least developed countries.

"They are building schools, and our students related to that," Hayslip said.

The central African nation currently has a population of about 13 million people, and an average life expectancy of 41 years.

It is said that AIDS infects 14 of every 100 adults there, and the literacy rate is about 62 per cent.