In 2013, inspired, passionate students came back from We Day and had an idea to start a Be the Change group. On Nov. 1, 2013, to help make a change in the world, students began weekly meetings.
Following Craig and Marc Kielburger’s lead to create a better world, the students (with help from our teachers) joined a Free the Children program called Adopt a Village. What is Adopt a Village? The program builds on the five pillars that create a healthy community: education, clean water and sanitation, health, alternative income and livelihood, agriculture and food security. There are eight countries this program supports, including Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Nicaragua, rural China and Sierra Leone.
The students had a democratic vote and the majority chose to raise money to build a school in India. Students have been working hard to learn about India: dress, language, customs and religion. By making posters, we are sharing our knowledge with our school.
Each $20 we raise pays for one brick. Our goal is to raise $500, which will pay for 100 bricks. We will be placing donation jars around town: Creative Fix, Pharmasave, Card and Stationery, Black Bear Books, Bahamas Travel, Canyon Country Store and the Canyon-Lister Elementary School.
The Be the Change group is also involved in another Free the Children campaign called, We are Silent. On April 17, students were silent to raise awareness for those whose voices are not heard: child labourers, children not allowed to go to school or who don’t even have access to clean water.
Here are some examples of why we were being silent for a day: Last year, 66 million primary school-aged children attended classes hungry in developing countries, 4.7 million children around the world are refugees, one in five Canadian students were cyberbullied, and 8.2 per cent of households in America didn’t have enough money to buy food for themselves or their families.
We hope our efforts will change not only India, but the world.
—BY OLIVIA KETTLE and EMMA PENNER