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Sudbury Star
Visions of March Break often dance in the
minds of students. Images of waves breaking
on a hot, sandy beach are a common vision of
the annual school vacation. But for 17
Rainbow District School Board (Sudbury,
Ontario) students, the March holiday was
spent spreading a little light into the
lives of less fortunate people.
The students took part in the Light Up Costa
Rica campaign, delivering 100 LED lighting
systems to some of the poorest and remote
areas in the world.
Another 100 systems are scheduled for
delivery this fall.
“Students backpacked into the mountains to
install systems after an Eco-Adventure
itinerary that included visits to volcanoes,
coral reefs, rainforest canopy zip-lines, a
sloth rehabilitation centre and educational
parks,” says David Wiwchar, vice-principal
of Lively District Secondary School.
Wiwchar has been leading the local “Light Up
Costa Rica” effort since its inception six
years ago.
“Approximately 350 homes have now been lit,
a remarkable achievement for the
enthusiastic students who have participated
in this project over the past few years,”
says Wiwchar.
“Each panel benefits five to 10 members, on
average, in a household. With our most
recent delivery, more than 1,750 people will
have received the gift of light as a result
of the generous contributions of our many
donors.”
Students and teachers involved in the
project — from Lasalle Secondary School,
Lively District Secondary School and
Manitoulin Secondary School — commended the
communities of Sudbury, Espanola and
Manitoulin for their ongoing support of this
project.
“Donations toward the lighting systems, at a
cost of $150 each, and sponsorship of
student travel enabled young people in
Rainbow Schools to experience the joy of
volunteering as they met their graduation
requirement of 40 hours of community
service,” says Wiwchar.
A total of 68 students have participated in
the Costa Rica excursion since the launch of
the project.
“These students have lived an incredible
volunteer experience, bringing light to
hundreds of children and families in the
rainforest,” he adds.
Thanks to a partnership with YMCA Service
Clubs of Canada, the “Light Up Costa Rica”
project has achieved official sponsored
status with the Light Up The World
Organization (www.lutw.org).
Program Director Christoph Schultz joined
the staff and students on this year’s
excursion.
The public will be able to view a slide show
of the 2009 trip to Costa Rica at the Earth
Day celebration on Saturday, April 18, 2009
at Market Square.
For more information about the project,
visit
lutw.org/project_costarica.htm.
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