Kelowna schoolkids raise cash to expand tiny daycare in India
Anne McClymont Elementary students raise $2,500 at entrepreneur fair
Money raised by Kelowna students to expand a daycare in India will be put to work to improve conditions for impoverished children this summer.
Students at Anne McClymont Elementary sold original items at an entrepreneur fair last month to raise money for the daycare, which looks after 42 children during the day.
In total, students raised $2,500, which will be sent to the daycare in Krishna Nagar, Delhi.
“Involving themselves as global citizens and making a difference in that way opens their eyes to another part of the world,” said Pam Samaddar, local middle school teacher and board member with the East Meets West Children’s Foundation, which supports the daycare by providing food, teachers and monthly doctor visits.
The money will go towards expanding the one-room school, which is currently very small, said Mohini Singh, chair of the East Meets West Children’s Foundation.
“You can take three steps from one end of the room to the other,” she said. “In the summer it’s so hot there, upwards of 45 C.”
The renovation will give the children and teachers an extra three metres of space, along with another window.
“This summer, the children will not be suffering in a small school room because of children from Kelowna,” said Singh. “They will have much more room and they won’t have to suffer the heat and exhaustion.”