Students in the South Shore believe every kid has the right to an education.
That’s why Bluenose Academy and Chester Area Middle School is fundraising to build a school in Haiti, brick by brick.
Together, the Social Justice Group is selling “bricks,” for $20.00 a piece, aiming to sell 500.
Bernadine Elliot, Bluenose Academy’s School Counsellor, says the students felt the Haitian people needed help recovering from the 2010 earthquake.
She says they couldn’t believe over 4,000 schools were destroyed, and wanted to help rebuild the ones that survived.
“Often just a bunch of tarps and huts, that were cobbled together,” she says.
“Students sitting on sticks because they didn’t have desks, and some schools have no toilets or running water.”
Elliot says some of the nearest schools were hours from the student’s homes.
This results in fewer than 30 per cent of children in Haiti being able to reach grade six, and overall the literacy rate is around 50 per cent.
The students believe every kid has the right to an education, and want to change the statistics.
Grace Roblee is a 12 year-old student at Bluenose Academy.
Roblee says she and her classmates are privileged to be able to access education, and Haitian students aren’t as lucky.
She says the fundraising has been easier than she thought.
“I think everyone really wants to help out with our community and the world,” she says.
Roblee says alongside the “bricks,” they’re selling cookies to each class and putting the money towards the school in Haiti.
Anyone interested in making a donation can drop by the office at Bluenose Academy.
