Wanipigow School Me to We Project

Overview:

The Grade 12 class of Hollow Water First Nation is currently working on a project titled the Wanipigow School Me to We Project. This project involves 15 Aboriginal youths from Hollow Water First Nation (with a few from the surrounding communities of Seymourville, and Manigotogan) who are working together to fundraise money in order to travel to the Managua region of Nicaragua. Upon travelling there we will be building a schoolhouse that will allow for children of the region to attend a place of learning, which is something that we as youth in Canada often take for granted. As Aboriginal youth we are often faced with statistics that tell us that we will not succeed in much the same way as our non-Aboriginal countrymen, however we want to show people through this project that we will not only succeed but will help others do the same as well. So far in our community there has never been a project of this magnitude ever undertaken. However we hope that this project will come to fruition. Although the Me to We organization has been around since 1995, this is all very new and exciting to us. Not only will we be aiding in the building of a schoolhouse, we will also be interacting with Nicaraguan Elders and women who will teach us things like their Native tongue. In addition to this we will be given the opportunity to interact with the youth of this community as well, that will allow us to build connections that will remain with us for life. In addition to that, this trip will have a number of
benefits for the greater community that we would like to share: 
Inspiration for other young people to pursue their dreams and aspirations, Knowledge sharing of other cultures and issues from the international community, Global connections made with other students and communities in Nicaragua, Acquired teaching knowledge that can be shared with other young people and communities, A broadening of First Nation interaction with global issues, Increased self-esteem and self-awareness in all people involved, which we hope will lead to increased mental, physical, and spiritual health and addiction free individuals, A continued strong stance against gang involvement., A strengthening of the leadership abilities of all youth involved., Continued involvement in community activities both youth and community led., A continuance of high school attendance & eventually high school diploma completion. At present, there is one significant barrier that stands in the way of this and that of course is money. As Aboriginal youth in northern communities, money is not an easy thing to come by, which is why we are seeking the support of organizations such as yours to help make this possible. For each person we must raise $2975.00 and as a collective group we need to acquire $44,625. The latter amount is quite a daunting one to look at but even if an organization such as yours can aid us in any way, we will greatly appreciate it. Every donation we acquire, no matter our small, gets us that much closer to our overall goal. All funds acquired for our project are handled by Wanipigow School accounting since this is a school run project. In addition to this, in order for the project to have added security there will be a contract signed between Wanipigow School and the Me to We program in order to ensure that all financial aspects are covered and everything is secured for when the trip takes place in April of 2013. In the event that there is an insufficient amount of money acquired for everyone to attend, Wanipigow School will still ensure that all funds acquired are used for a trip of the same purpose with largely the same goals (in other words if there is an insufficient amount of money to travel out of North America the students and chaperones of the Wanipigow Me to We Project will plan a trip that suits whatever financial assistance we acquire).
We would like to say gitchi-miigwetch for taking the time to look at our project. We hope you cast your vote for us! :)