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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2009-08-19, Page 20Page 20 The Huron Expositor • August 19, 2009 News High school students help build schools in. Kenya with Free the HChildren Dan Schwab 4111111.1111110 They spent hours driving shovels into the ground and hauling dirt in the scorching African heat, but the half-dozen teens from Seaforth who went to Kenya this summer to build schools for underprivileged children have returned home with a great sense of accomplishment. Eighteen students from St. Anne's Secondary School spent the first two weeks of July on the eye- opening trip in Masai Mara, Ke- nya, helping to build two primary schools with Free the Children, an organization that runs education and development programs in 45 countries. During the laborious days, the group dug the foundation for one school and helped lay the foun- dation on the floor of another. Al- though the buildings were left unfinished by the time the group left, more Free the Children volun- teers will be completing the project soon. After work at night, they slept in tents with bunk beds. But for two nights, their accommodations were primitive beds made of sticks. But there were no complaints coming from the teenaged volun- teers. Mostly, because of the amount of appreciation the Kenyan children showed them for their efforts. "It was a really big shock," says Dylan Bruxer, 15. "The kids were so happy, just to have the opportu- nity to go to school." Brittany Nigh, 18, says one day a few of the Kenyan children, many of whom speak fluent English as Danielle Chisholm, 16, digs the founda- tion for a school in Kenya last month. a result of their schooling, asked her what she loves about Can- ada. "I said what I loved about Canada was my friends and fam- ily and they said they loved their school," Nigh says. There is a des- perate need for schools in Kenya after violent pro- tests following Brittany Nigh poses the 2007 presi- Emorijoi primary sch dential election resulted in the de- struction of some schoolsand the displacement of hundreds of thou- sands of people. The local volunteers saw the vil- lagers of Masai Mara living in crude huts made of mud with thatch roofs. Some had a homemade fire pit or little stove inside their home but little else. They would sleep on the floor every night. "They don't have anything, real- ly," Bruxer says. "That's why it was really surprising that all the kids were so happy." One day, the group went to a Submitted photos with some of the Grade 8 students in the ool in Kenya. nearby market and purchased clothes for some of the children in the village. They also helped them out by volunteering to fetch water from the Masai River, securing the filled buckets to their backs using a rope acid walking as far as two kilometres back to the village. For some, the river is the only source of drinking water. The vil- lage has been experiencing a drought that began shortly be- fore the teens arrived and the dry weather killed off many crops. See TEENS, Page 21 coLDweLL BANKeRD All Points Festival City Realty Brokerage Seaforth & Area Listings www.coldweilbankerfc.com (519) 527-21031 Main St., Seaforth *Sales Representatives fit©.® ./11.17U1 LISTON 1111WICII PIA t CA* SANDRA DALE CeII: 519-525-9788 sandradale.com rme BRENDA CAMPBELL Cell: 519-525-9154 brenda-campbeil.com STACY REEVES CeII: 519-525-1177 sreevesetcc.on.ca MARY VANDENHENGEL TONY VANDENHENGEL Cell: 519-525-6191 Cell: 519-233-3168 hengel@tcc.on.ca hengeletcc.on.ca BEAUTIFUL I MOVE RIGHT IN LTAKE YOUR PICK) 81 Goderich St., Seaforth $254,900 MI092133 55 Brantford St., Seaforth $199,900 MIs 092030 VALUE IL BAYFIELD OPEN HOUSE NEW LISTING SOLD Stornoway Cres., Seaforth $250,900 - $334,900 MIs 092105-092109 COUNTRY Saturday August 22, 10:30 - 12:00 6067 Frank Street, Mitchell MIs 092383 START YOUR OWN BUSINESS 109 Market Street, Seaforth $224,900 BUILDING LOT 21 Toronto Blvd., Vanastra $159,900 MIs 083721 GREAT STARTER 93 Dunlop St., Clinton $179,900 MIs 091927 25 Sarnia Rd., Bayfield MIs09167900 42163 Huron Ad. RRN2, Seaforth $359,900 MIs 080828 ss .53 Main St., Seaforth $1000 MIs�060706 RRN 2, Seaforth $99MIs 091781 168 Jarvis St., Seaforth $149,900 MIs 090601