Vancouver Chinatown Leo Club

Vancouver Chinatown Leo Club: Project Kenya

Kids in Kenya Every 3 seconds one child dies of extreme poverty and hundreds more are robbed of the right to live because of AIDS, poverty, disease and violence. These numbers and figures are not just mere numbers; they equate to the number of children who don’t get a chance to live. I believe that children everywhere deserve a chance; a chance to study, play, dream, get into trouble and do things that children do and not have to worry about feeding their families. This is why the members of the Vancouver Chinatown Leo Club, a youth service group, decided to make the lives of a few African children better. We are students of Britannia Community Secondary School. Britannia has instilled her great legacy of education in each and every one of her students and we hope to pass it on to others. For Britannia’s Centennial in 2008, we have prepared an ambitious proposal. We intend to build a primary school in Kenya, Africa!
We believe that education for the children of Africa is the key to future economic growth, lasting democracy leading to greater political stability and improved standard of living. However, the current state of education in Kenya is plagued by a lack of funds, teachers, textbooks and political transparency. We have our work cut out for us; we intend to fundraise $20,000, which will be used to build a fully furbished primary school in Nairobi, Kenya.

We have done quite a few fundraisers like movie nights, craft fairs, bake-sales and raffles so far and have raised over a thousand dollars. Fundraising within our community has been quite challenging as our school is located in the eastside of Vancouver. This is one of the most impoverished places in all of Canada and is noted for high incidences of drug addiction, prostitution and gang violence. In order to solve this, we decided to expand our fundraising activities to other cities and communities. We also sent corporate letters to different corporations informing them of our goals and asking for their help. I believe educating other Canadians about the various issues that affect Africa is equally important as fundraising money for the school.

This is an ongoing venture and we will continue to fundraise until we reach our goal. We are currently working with an organization called Afretech-Aid. Afretech is a B.C. based non-profit organization, which provides the poorest rural African schools with the educational resources they need. We are also indirectly working with the community in Nairobi and trying to get the community involved in the venture. This helps create a sense of ownership and responsibility within the community which is crucial to our goal. I know that this will not change all the problems that Africa is facing but it is definitely a start towards the right path.

Project Kenya

Vancouver Chinatown Leo Club: Project Kenya

Give HOPE to the future of Kenya: