Three Central Okanagan high school students travelled to Guatemala last November with Project Somos, a Canadian charity that helps children in Guatemala attend school and live a more sustainable and healthy life.
The three Grade 9 pupils at Aberdeen Hall Preparatory School in Kelowna — Athina Merckx, Megan Corrigan and Ty Frydanlund — said the trip to Guatemala was an “obvious choice.”
The three told Global News this week that the trip was a culture shock, and that they weren’t expecting it to have such a lasting impact on them.
Since returning home, the three have furthered their support by starting up their own personal funding campaigns.
So far the three of them combined have raised almost $14,000 for the Project Somos Children’s Village.
Merckx said how happy the children were and “even though they didn’t have much, they treated everyday like it was the best day of their life.”
The group is now competing in the semifinals of the Sustainable Development Challenge on Tuesday at the Rotary Center for the Arts.
The challenge is a team-based, creative project that addresses at least one of the United Nations’ 17 global goals.
In their case, they are focusing on no poverty, quality education and zero hunger. The winning team will be awarded $5,000 to turn their project into a reality.
The Kelowna group says if they win, the money will go towards buying sheep for the community they visited back in Guatemala.
They say women in the village will shear the sheep and use wool to create ‘felties,’ which are turned into various stuffed animals as well as dryer balls.
Lastly, they shared that the trip was inspiring and will hopefully one day return to Guatemala. For now, they are planning on how to continue to raise awareness.
For more on project Somos, click here.
To support these three students directly, their Instagram is @sheepforsomos.
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