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Students at Alpine Elementary School have adopted a sister school in Africa and are raising money to help students there. This week, visitors from that African school made the long trip to Alpine to say thanks.
"This is the first time I have seen so many American children in one sitting," visitor Lillian Odibro said.
It's also the first time Odibro has been to America. She is part of the group visiting from Africa and is teaching the kids about her homeland. She and her colleagues even sang for the students in Swahili.
But the real reason Odibro is here is to take teaching skills and life skills back to teachers at the Candle Light School.
In Nairobi, Candle Light is where the poorest of the poor kids come for an education. The lunch the students are fed here is usually the only meal they get. Odibro showed the students at Alpine what that meal is: cornflower and sardines.
It's this food that connects Alpine students to the African students. Alpine Elementary is raising lunch money for the Candle Light School by walking.
"At our recess time, or during P.E., the kids walk outside on the playground; and for every four times they go around, that's a mile," explained Principal David Stephenson.
Every mile the kids walk, they raise 40 cents through pledges. That feeds a Candle Light student for one week. They're not just making money, but friends.
"These children write to each other and introduce each other to the different cultures they have been brought up in," Odibro explained.
So far, the kids have raised 625 meals, and they'll keep tracking their miles to raise money until March.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
