SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A school in Kenya has a new kitchen facility thanks to the hard work of students at Sir John Franklin School.
Students at Simotwet Primary School celebrate during a visit by Sir John Franklin students, who went to Kenya in March to see the finished kitchen facility they helped raise money for. - photo courtesy of Dean MacInnis |
The students have been fundraising the money for two years and travelled to Simotwet Primary School in the Londiani district of Kenya, northwest of Nairobi, in March to see their hard work in action.
"Our buses pulled up and the entire school was buzzing," said Meghan Newberry, a Grade 10 student at Sir John.
"Everybody was shaking they were so excited."
Principal Dean MacInnis, a chaperon on the trip, said the Yellowknife group was greeted by the parents who sang and gave them flowers.
The kitchen facility will allow the Kenyan students to make meals at the school instead of walking kilometres to eat their midday meals at home. This will increase their overall class time.
In Kenya, according to MacInnis, students have free education until Grade 8 but must take a national test to continue. That is, only if the family can afford it, and students need a school uniform to attend.
He said that's why having as much time in the classroom as possible is essential.
The Sir John group raised $17,000 for the school, most of which went towards building the kitchen but also paid for school uniforms.
"A little bit more (was raised to travel)," MacInnis said. "Not much."
For Newberry, this trip has made her consider what she takes for granted.
"Every day I think about it," she said. "Even though they didn't have a lot that I had, it didn't seem to matter to them. They're so happy living the life they live."
The group that went to Kenya consisted of 14 students and four chaperons.
The Simotwet Primary School renovation project actually began in 2011, with a different group. The Bernhard Melitz Foundation, based in Lethbridge Alta., raised money to build three classrooms at the school and were matched by a couple in Alberta who funded another three.
MacInnis said he felt inspired to keep the project going and started raising more money in 2014.
"I think the thought process of everyone involved was, 'We're doing a great deed to help a community in need,'" he said.
"It's an incredible feeling of, 'You were part of something important,' but you get so much ... because they were so appreciative of what you did for them."
Newberry said that right now the group is focused on raising money to help an 18-year-old girl the group met who has been shunned by her community because of a stroke she suffered at a young age.
For MacInnis, this project is a two-way street. He says while it helps the Kenyans, it also helps his own students.
"The reality is they become part of a project that is bigger than they can imagine," he said.
