West Sechelt Elementary School (WSES) staff and students have been sponsoring a school in the Mathare slum located in Nairobi, Kenya. WSES is in its third year of sponsorship, dubbed Project Hope, and have raised more than $20,000 to date.
"Along with our partners in Ireland and Belgium, we have not only helped the school grow from 45 to 124 students, we have purchased a new building as well," said WSES PAC chair Brenda Rowe in a news release. "There have been many successes and positive changes for the students going to the school. However, they remain vulnerable to the unstable world around them. According to the BBC Africa website there have been over 500 people killed and 250,000 people displaced throughout the country.
"Because of the serious lack of communication, we are unable to find out how the Project Hope families are coping, but given the scope of the disaster it is unrealistic to think that they will go unaffected. "
As the start to the fundraising effort, WSES is initiating a community-wide bottle drive. WSES is asking people to drop bottles off at the school, or call for pick up at 604-885-2825. People are also welcome to make cash donations.
