Submitted by Anna Pye,Nechako Valley Secondary
After a long two and a half years of fundraising, NVSS Me to We students and leadership teams have managed to build a school room in Shuid, Ecuador.
Shuid is an indigenous community located in the southern parts of the Chimborazo province in Ecuador, at an altitude of 12,136 feet. They are 1.5 hours away from the nearest city.
Shuid is an indigenous Quichua community that has stayed true to their existing culture. The population of the community is approximately 1,000, including 200 children under the age of 18.
Of the 200 school-aged children only 145 regularly attend school, as many are engaged in child labour practices. There was a big need for more schools as students still suffered from lack of space in the old classrooms. When new classrooms are built, it is always a priority to implement health, water and sanitation and alternate income projects.
NVSS students travelled with Anna Pye and Kathy Russell on a Voluntour trip to Ecuador in 2013. As part of the volunteer project they built a foundation for a bathroom as part of a clean water and sanitation project.
They worked alongside the Minga (locals from the area) and connected so much to the community that it spurred a 2 year long fundraiser to build a school in the Chimborazo Province.
Anna, Kathy and the students at NVSS and former Me to We Grads would like to thank all community members who: Participated in the pancakes for bricks campaigns, burgers for bricks, tshirt design campaigns, photo ops, bake sales, vow of silence, bottle drives, water walks, etc.
And the community businesses who helped with the fundraisers and sponsorship: Earthenware, Arts Council, CNC, SD91, Vanderhoof District Co-op, Independent Grocers, Subway, Integris Credit Union, Dr.Wong, District of Vanderhoof, YRB, Arts Council, Nechako Valley Secondary, Barefoot Caravan, Rachel Vanzanten, Kevin Moutray, RBC, Intergris Credit Union, WL McLeod We Day students and Michelle Miller-Gauthier, Kim Worthington, EDS, Roz Harper, Libby Hart, Ken Young, Brian Cross, Jeannie MacGregor, Mia Moutray, and many more.
All fundraising efforts brought in $10,000 for the school house. They are extremely happy to have met this goal!
To learn more about this community, check out our microsite which is updated periodically with the process of the projects: http://reports.freethechildren.com/community/shuid/