From Maple Grove With Love

Despite language barriers, international borders and youth, six local fifth-graders are making a huge difference.

By: Laura Theobald | From the issue: May 2009

Photo: Marshall Franklin Long

Fifth-graders Kettie Tesfa and Milena Cornejo were two of the local students who raised money for; then delivered school supplies to students in Sasabe, Mexico

They might be young, but they know that in some parts of the world, students walk two to three miles to school every day, carrying books or sometimes even a brother or sister. They know that in some countries, kids don’t have video games, roller skates, swimming pools or even school supplies. But luckily, fifth-grade students Eric Nebel, Grant Deakins, Hailey Schleter, Jhania Blanchard, Kettie Tesfa and Milena Cornejo also know that they can make a difference.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of a big charity,” said Jhania, from Elm Creek Elementary School. “Because I want to help people.”

At the end of March, the students – along with program leader Tammie Epley and Weaver Lake Elementary School Principal Gretchen Peel – traveled to Mexico to deliver school supplies to the needy children of Sasabe, Mexico. They spent a full day south of the border, as well as two days in Tucson, Ariz., experiencing how students in another culture live and learn.

“It’s very eye-opening to see how other people live,” Epley said. “We have so much more than a lot of other people in the world, and a lot of our kids take it for granted until they see, firsthand, people who don’t have everything we do.”