Kids use their loaf for Nepal

A tiny Auckland building is going up for auction.

And the primary school kids who own it have their hearts set on a big return.

The sale of the sleepout is part of a classroom project at Grey Lynn School.

The pupils started with one loaf of bread and their aim was to keep trading for items of higher value until they reached their goal – a house for a deserving family.

But things haven’t quite gone to plan.

The youngsters thought they had it made when they came into possession of a sleepout. After all, it had four walls and a roof which is basically what they were after. But noone wanted to trade for their sleepout.

Teacher Grant O’Connor says they started brainstorming what they could do to make their dream a reality.

‘‘We were looking at Nepal and the earthquakes and the big challenges those people now face,’’ he says.

‘‘A kid piped up and said: ‘ Why don’t we give the house to them?’’’

O’Connor says at first the students wondered how they would ‘‘get the house there’’ but then the idea started to develop.

They held several class votes to ensure it was what the majority wanted and a presen- tation from Habitat For Humanity sealed the deal – they would sell the sleepout and put the money towards building houses in Nepal.

Teacher Grant O’Connor admits it’s not what the class had originally planned.

‘‘I’ve learnt as a teacher that things will always evolve,’’ he says.

‘‘We will still achieve our goal.’’

Student Rose Bennett says she will jump for joy and ‘‘punch the air’’ if someone buys the sleepout.

Classmate Felix Allanson agrees it is a purchase that will have a profound impact on a number of lives.

‘‘We’ve been working on this for more than a year, we really want to achieve it.

‘‘It’s taught dream,’’ he says.

The students initially traded the loaf of bread for two DVDs, then the DVDs for eight Nintendo Wii games.

They were also donated a Wii console, two designer cushions and two cinema seats. Then they swapped the Wii bundle for a brand new toilet which was donated to Habitat For Humanity.

The class traded the remaining items for cabinetry, drawers, a stovetop and an extractor fan which they switched for the sleepout.

The kitchen was then donated to Habitat for Humanity by New Zealand Management Academies.

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