For two hours of stories and song on Sept. 25, Kent led the Markham-area students through the basic purpose of We Day and how Free the Children and the Me To We social enterprise helps provide children in six countries with education and villages with clean water.
The third annual We Day, “a rock concert for social change,” will be broadcast live from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Oct. 10, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., on the CTV network, hosted by Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim. Unlike the 16,000 mostly high school and university students who will pack the arena on We Day, the Grade 3 to 8 St. Monica students are the same age as the child labourers Free the Children was created to help 14 years ago.
The St. Monica’s social justice club, which calls itself the Luke 4:18 Club, is looking forward to working with Free The Children to help kids their own age.
Teacher Nadia Vita arranged for Kent’s concert and presentation for the school because she wanted to share with students her own experience helping Free the Children construct a school in Kenya over the summer. Whether it’s AIDS or poverty or 218 million child labourers around the world “too many people are closing a blind eye to these issues,” said Vita.
Getting kids aware and involved is essential, she said because kids can and will be the ones to change the world.
“It’s not about having the money, it’s about having the will,” said Kent. “Kids just know. They see that this (poverty) is wrong.”
The line up for the big We Day broadcast includes Free the Children founders Craig and Marc Kielburger, Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, musician Hedley, environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr., Anne of Green Gables actress Hannah Endicott-Douglas, Toronto Argonauts CEO Mike “Pinball” Clemons and former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
Kids understand message of We Day
By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register
{mosimage}MARKHAM, Ont. - When Louise Kent sang to about 300 St. Monica Catholic Elementary School pupils that “the power of youth is the power of truth,” the kids were paying attention.
“We should help them (the poor),” said Grade 7 student Katherine Paulino at the end of Kent’s two-hour preview of We Day. “They say it all the time, but we should really help them.”
“You’re helping to start a group in Grade 7, a whole group helping the world. But it could be everyone,” said student Renée Lam.
“When I grow up, I want to help the poor,” said Ivana Anderson.
“We should help them (the poor),” said Grade 7 student Katherine Paulino at the end of Kent’s two-hour preview of We Day. “They say it all the time, but we should really help them.”
“You’re helping to start a group in Grade 7, a whole group helping the world. But it could be everyone,” said student Renée Lam.
“When I grow up, I want to help the poor,” said Ivana Anderson.
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