Tionna Nashiem was inspired to change the world, and she is now working on getting halfway around the globe in order to leave her thumbprint.
The Grade 8 student at Sacred Heart/Sacré Coeur School was among the local group of youth to trek to Saskatoon in February for the Me to We conference presented by Free the Children.
Sitting down in the school library last week, Tionna said that at the conference, the students were asked to make a difference, and that's why she is going to Kenya to build a school.
"They told us to go out there and change the world, so that's how I got the idea," she said.
Her mother, Kelli Kitzul, was supportive of the idea and began organizing to go on one of Free the Children's immersive school-building experiences and thought it would be best to do things now, before Tionna gets into high school.
"They offer these family trips and we got the last spot to go," said Kitzul, noting they will be together with a group. "The whole highlight of the trip is the school building."
The pair will be gone from Aug. 17 to 31, spending time in Nairobi and Bogani, where they will spend eight days building the school. For the rest of the trip, they will be getting to know local customs, visiting the Baraka Medical Clinic and an all-girls' school.
They will be completing the finishing touches on a school that was started by other groups that have been through the area on similar trips.
"There were a lot of people talking (at the conference), and there were two people talking about how they went somewhere and built a school," said Tionna, who entered a contest to go to a Third World country and take part in some kind of work building homes or schools. After she didn't win that, she and Kitzul decided the trip would only happen after some local fundraising.
Being inspired to go was the easy part, but raising the $14,000 necessary for the trip has meant a little more legwork.
The trip is organized entirely by Free the Children, so they just have to raise the money and get to Toronto, where they will then fly to Nairobi. Once there, they will stay in exaggerated "tents" that are more like cottages and get to work building the school.
Tionna's teacher, Nancy Bourbonnais, said that often students, including Tionna, will ask about why they don't have access to something in the classroom. Bourbonnais said seeing a school in Kenya and experiencing how other students learn may help her see that she should be appreciative of what they do have access to.
Tionna also made it very clear she was excited to see some animals during the group's safari.
Upcoming fundraisers for the pair include a steak night at Houston Pizza on April 30 and a youth basketball tournament on May 3 and 4 at Sacred Heart. They set up a booth at the Quota Club Craft Show on April 6, and Kitzul has been getting the word out to businesses in the city as well.
Those wishing to contact Kitzul about the fundraiser or to make a donation may call her at 306-461-9544 or call the school at 306-634-4249 to contact Bourbonnais. A Facebook page for the group can be found under Tionna and Kelli's Kenya Trip.
