Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010
Week of April 7, 2008
St. James School out to build home for poor in El Salvador
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- photo supplied
Students and staff at St. James School show off the chart showing how many 'bricks' they have bought towards their house in El Salvador.
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Special to the WCR
Edmonton
Each Lenten season, St. James School identifies an organization in the global community as our focus for care. Our specific intent is to increase students' awareness of their ability to take action as global citizens - citizens who have the power to directly and immediately impact their world in a humanitarian and charitable manner.
Our students are aware of the concerns and issues in the world, from poverty and war, to homelessness and climate change. Our Lenten projects provide students with the opportunity to realize their personal power as agents of change for God in a world filled with daunting challenges. They are able to connect their volunteer efforts with hope for the future.
After seeing the report in the Feb. 11 WCR on the Sticks and Stones project that builds houses for the poor in Chacarita, El Salvador, we invited founder Stephen Keogh and volunteers Joseph Wysocki and Harry Buddle to address the school.
The audience was so moved by the circumstances of the poor in Chacarita that there was an immediate outpouring of a desire to do something to help.
The goal of the St. James School community is to raise $3500.00 to build one home in Chacarita. Our motto is How Do We Build a House? One Brick at a Time! We are using the visual representation of a house built of 700 bricks to monitor our progress.
Each brick costs $5 and is filled with colour once it has been purchased via a donation. (We hope to make this an ongoing project for our community)
Each class is generating ideas to raise money. The Grade 2 class is planning a donut sale. The kindergarten and Grade 6 classes are going to have a silent auction of their artwork.
The Kindness Club is organizing this year's hunger lunch. More ideas are coming in quickly from the other classrooms. Staff members have challenged their colleagues and family members to match their own donations.
Mr. Wysocki has promised to match the funds we raise by the conclusion of our project in May. There is also matching funding from the provincial government. There is a strong commitment to meet our goal of helping the poor in El Salvador.
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