By Kayla Bruch

Students raising $10K for Sierra Leone school

Jan 19, 2015 | 10:29 AM

Several Carlton High School students are planning to raise $10,000 over the next year, to help build a school for children who live in poverty in Sierra Leone.

“They need help because they don’t have education there and they need a school where they can go to that’s closer because usually they have to like walk really far,” said grade nine student, Taksala Abeygunawardena. “Everyone deserves one [an education], I mean it just helps you like if you can’t read or write like how would you get through life.”

Abeygunawardena, along with fellow students, joined Carlton’s Me to We club which is striving to make a difference in the lives of students who live on the other side of the world.

“I joined Me to We club because I wanted to be involved in our community and I wanted to help,” said Abeygunawardena. “Some people they don’t have…as much as we do. I think that it’s a good way to give.”

Ian Hecht teaches at Carlton and is currently running the Me to We club, in the place of Denise Wilkinson, who is now on an educational leave.

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“The students are all like crazy about doing things to improve the planet…and I mean just stuff like that makes me want to get involved with that sort of student,” said Hecht. “We have had groups that have been doing fundraising for years and years but Me to We is the last four years I think.”

Hecht said they chose Me to We out of all other charities in need because of its focus on youth and what they are interested in.

“A lot of the charities are oriented around adults and what adults can do and you know fundraising for those sort of initiatives. Me to We was started by Craig [and Marc] Kielburger when [they were] quite young and so the projects and the drive behind it are orientated around youth and young people and kind of what they are capable of,” he said.

In 2013 student Kristen Gunter said she and four other Carlton students had an “eye-opening” experience when they travelled to Ecuador through Me to We.

“It really motivated me to like make change around the world throughout my life,” she said. “It was a really small community and most of the kids…would come on the boat like down the river to come to school each day. They had like rain barrels for water. Their houses are…made of wood and there not insulated or anything like. They just didn’t have much and it was nice to be able to go and help them.”

During the weekly Me to We club meetings the students have learned about the area where the school will be built in Sierra Leone.

“From what we’ve learned is there was a war there. There was a lot of destruction and so now there’s a lot of poverty and lack of education for the kids so I think that a school will be really good for them to have,” said Gunter. “Being involved in this I know I can help…provide education for children in Sierra Leone and I think that’s really important.”

Gunter as well as Abeygunawardena said they would love to travel to Sierra Leone if the Ebola scare is controlled.

“I think probably the health issues that are going on in Africa right now are kind of putting a damper on people’s willingness to travel but I’m certain that once that’s cleared up, once the epidemic has been dealt with that people will be interested in going over and seeing kind of where our impact is being felt,” said Hecht.

To help these students raise $10,000 see what club fundraisers are coming up through Carlton’s school announcements or there twitter feed. This month is warmup Wednesdays where they sell hot chocolate and doughnuts.

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter: @KaylaBruch1