They know they won't be saving the world with a singular campaign, but when you get eight determined young girls from Pleasantdale School in Estevan driving toward one major cause, you have a force that needs to be seriously considered.
The elementary public school on the city's north side is home of the Pleasantdale Social Justice Crew and they have set a goal of raising $10,000 to buy 1,000 mosquito nets to protect thousands of youngsters and their families in Africa through a Spread the Net challenge.
So far they've raised just over $1,334 and they're determined to hit the targeted amount by the end of February 2013.
By making the netting available to families in Africa, the threat of them catching malaria is reduced by 50 per cent or more. With each net costing just $10, these Estevan girls are determined to make their presence felt on the international social assistance and health scene.
Malaria is spread through the bite of a mosquito that is infected with it already and malaria is to be taken seriously since it kills about 655,000 people annually and 91 per cent of the deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Children are the most vulnerable.
With this in mind, the Pleasantdale justice team, backed by the entire school population of 222 students including those in kindergarten, are aiming at this lofty goal, perhaps counting on Estevan's already well documented history of backing projects that are most deserving.
A bonus in the Canada-wide competition to buy the most nets is the fact that if the school can raise the money and finish on the top rung of the Spread the Net campaign, they'll receive a visit from Rick Mercer, the well-known comedian and talk show host who will spend some time with the team and the school.
"A visit from Rick Mercer would be great, really great. But first, what would be really great is raising the money to buy the nets," said Avery Dechief, one of the young spokeswomen for the Pleasantdale team.
Spread the Net it touted on Mercer's weekly Rick Mercer Report, aired by the CBC. He co-founded the project with former MP and member of the Canadian Privy Council, Hon. Belinda Stronach. The purpose, they point out, is to raise awareness as well as funds to buy the anti-malarial bed nets for the children and their families in Africa. It's a simple, yet effective, solution that protects them against mosquito bites at night. Each $10 donation gets a net delivered to a family living in a malaria-endemic region.
The Pleasantdale students pointed out that the challenge has been taken up by secondary schools and post-secondary institutions as well as elementary schools across Canada. In their elementary school division, they are competing against 45 other schools.
"So far we've been doing penny and bottle drives," said Dechief.
"Just ask me how many pennies we've had to roll up and deliver," said Sarah Driscoll, staff adviser to the social justice team.
But they are going to have a bake sale too, and also a talent show to earn a few more bucks.
"We'll be doing more things than that too," said Sara Saigeon, another team member. "We have until the end of February to do them, that's the contest deadline."
The Pleasantdale crew has sent out letters to the local community seeking sponsorship support, maybe even a corporate donation or two, to help them reach the goal.
The idea was discussed thoroughly with the school's community council who gave it their blessing.
It was noted by an intrepid reporter that all members of the social justice club were girls. This was easily confirmed.
"The boys join the sports clubs," they said with a collective laugh. But that doesn't mean the Pleasantdale boys aren't in the mix. They definitely are. In fact each class is being tracked on a large graph located in the school's main hallway, noting how much each grade has been able to raise. The classroom that raises the most by the end of February gets a pizza party. And it was noted they'd probably be able to find a spare slice of pizza for Mercer in the event they win the competition and a visit from the high energy television star.
The social justice group will be turning their attention to assisting the Estevan Humane Society and the United Way Estevan as the school year progresses, but right now, their focus is on netting the nets.
"We've collected lots of pennies and bottles," said Kourtney Kobitz, one of the team members, while the others pointed out that the future holds out hope in the form of the bake sale, talent show and solicitation letters.
"You can go right on line and make a donation in the name of Pleasantdale School too," said Avery.
"Oh, it would be fun to be on TV with Rick Mercer for sure, but we're here to help families in Africa first," she added.
On line it's www.spreadthenet.org or call directly 1-877-367-6380.
The Spread the Net campaign is headquartered in Toronto.
But even more importantly, the Pleasantdale Social Justice crew may be reached by simply contacting the school at 634-4210.
One net, 10 bucks, save a life.
