EAGLE VALLEY
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Eagles beat back the Storm with 8-2 win Page 8
Youth show off curling skill in annual Jam Can Page 9
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Vol. 53 No. 11 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (HST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Kenya calls out to young activist Support: Eagle River Secondary student fundraising for trip. By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
Jessie Kennedy hopes to embark on the ultimate field trip, one that will expose her to an utterly foreign way of life while opening her eyes further to the power of positive change. But to do this, the Eagle River Secondary Grade 9 student will need some help herself. Kennedy has been selected to take part in a Me to We trip to Kenya. Me to We is an agent of social change. It operates in conjunction with its charitable partner, Free the Children, to “free children from poverty and exploitation, and to free young people from the notion that they are powerless to affect positive change in the world.” Kennedy’s journey will begin on March 16, 2013, when she flies with Me to We to Nairobi, Kenya. Over the next 11 days, she will travel to the Me to We camp on the outskirts of the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve. There she will learn about the local geography and environment. She will also receive a cultural education, that includes visiting local villages of the Maasai and Kipsigis people, while learning to speak Swahili. “It will definitely change my perspective on everything and I’ll learn about myself as an activist, and I can put that to use around the community when I come back,” says Kennedy. But not all of Kennedy’s education will be cerebral. She and her fellow Me to We guests will help with the construction of a local school and a water system. To be a part of this rare opportunity, Kennedy needs to raise $5,000 by December. The Sicamous Lions Club have already helped Kennedy with a $500 payment to guarantee her spot on the trip. Now the Lions will be working with Kennedy on other fundraisers throughout the
Thinking globally: Grade 9 student Jessie Kennedy hopes to take part in a humanitarian youth mission to Kenya, and will be spending the year doing fundraisers to earn the $5,000 needed for the adventure. The first fundraiser is a spaghetti dinner, supported by the Sicamous Lions Club. It will be held March 21 at the high school. Photo by Lachlan Labere n year to get her on The first fundraiser her way. is slated for Wednes“We’ll see if we day, March 21. It will can’t get most of be a spaghetti supper It will definitely change my g it for her, or a big and silent auction at perspective on everything and I’ll or portion of it for Eagle River Seconder her, and then let her ary. learn about myself as an activist, t, work on the rest, Kennedy says she and I can put that to use around ot because it’s a lot had humanitarian the community when I come back. iof money,” says Lileanings in the past, Jessie Kennedy nt ons Club president but it was seeing Me o Betty Powell, who to We motivational notes her grandson speaker Spencer West also experienced a similar adventure with that opened her eyes to what she has to ofMe to We. fer.
“I couldn’t fathom the idea that he was doing what he does and he has no legs,” says Kennedy. “So I felt that I could do it too. That’s what really sparked my interest in everything. And I went to more Me to We days in Vancouver, and me and Spencer have become pretty good friends for the most part.” West says for any student considering an international trip, with Me to We or another organization, the decision should be personal and one that should be made by the youth and their family. West says he first had the opportunity to travel to Kenya See Me to We on page 3