Fruit Valley and Image elementary schools might not have the most affluent students in Vancouver, but they sure have heart.
A six-week fundraising effort at the schools collected enough money to buy three desks — at $40 each — for Ethiopian classrooms.
The fundraiser was a part of Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation’s free after-school program, Kids First, which is open to all students but targets those from families that might not be able to afford child care, program spokeswoman Bret Kertz said.
The global connection was the result of a longtime program volunteer’s visit to Ethiopia in October. Maureen Pedone and her son, Gary, traveled to Ethiopia to drill a well and build eight bathrooms in a school. Once she returned to Vancouver, Pedone thought she could share her experience with local students and inspire them to help their Ethiopian counterparts.
She started Kids Can to create a link between local schools and Ethiopian schools.
“One of the big focuses is to make kids understand it doesn’t matter how much money you have or what street you live on: you have a gift,” Pedone said.
She visited Washington, Image and Fruit Valley six times to lead projects on kids in Ethiopia. The students made friendship bracelets, watched slide shows, wrote letters and did other activities during craft time.
Along the way, they collected spare change to replace the earthen mounds that serve as desks in Dali school in east-central Ethiopia. The students’ effort inspired the school community to raise enough money to buy four additional desks.
Pedone plans to return to Ethiopia in October. She will hire local carpenters to build the desks and take photos to share with Vancouver students when she continues her program in the winter.
