Kenya may be thousands of miles away but it's close to home for Coquitlam Maillard middle school.
Maillard has a sister school in Kenya called Shikokho primary school and students here say they're developing an emotional bond with the teenagers in the east African country.
They've written to the students and received responses. They also raised $3,500 for sports equipment and school supplies last year and when they saw photos and a video of the Shikokho students wearing new soccer jerseys and kicking around the balls they sent, they were surprised at how good it felt to give the Kenyan kids an experience that many North American children take for granted.
"I think it's very important to communicate with people who need our help," said Jesika Kula, one of the students involved in the fundraising effort.
"It's cool we can connect with kids who are so far away," said Claire Bouvier.
Last year, the students held a sport-a-thon to raise funds for the school and the students will do so again next Thursday, Feb. 10. They'll spend a sleepless night doing sports-related activities as a way to have fun while also raising $5,000 for their sister school.
"It's a good cause. It goes to people who could use the stuff and it feels good to be helping out," said Stephen Wynnyk, who is in Grade 8.
The students were touched to see in a video how much the Kenya students appreciated the soccer equipment they sent.
The video showed students playing soccer with the 35 donated soccer balls and wearing their new jerseys donated by the Maple Ridge sports clothing store First Touch Soccer.
"It was like Justin Bieber showed up," is how teacher sponsor Christine Hilliard described the reaction of the Shikokho students when the school's contact, Ashley MacMillan, handed out the jerseys and equipment.
This year, funds raised through the sport-a-thon and private donations will be used to improve sports facilities at the school and make the building safer.
As well, Hilliard and four other Maillard teachers - Arun Angl, Stanley Yuen, Tracy Hall and Tommy Nguyenher - will fly to Kenya on their own dime during spring break to help with grading the soccer field, replacing windows, fixing floors and building a basketball court.
The teachers also plan to bring 16 boxes of donated books with them to distribute to students; those will complement school supplies already sent to Kenya.
This is the second year of a three-year project and Hilliard said it has been important for the students to see the results of their fundraising rather than simply handing over a cheque.
Besides, the Maillard kids are happy to have some new friends, even though Kenya is still a long way away.
To donate to Maillard middle school's sport-a-thon, email teacher Christine Hilliard at chilliard@sd43.bc.ca
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