Three North Shore Grade 8 students have banded together to go the distance in support of their peers in Ghana.
On Saturday, May 24, friends Luke McKenzie, 14, Willem Young, 14, and Angus Duguid, 13, all North Shore residents who attend Island Pacific School on Bowen Island, will embark on a fundraising triathlon relay, taking turns biking, swimming and running a total of 55 kilometres from Deep Cove to Bowen. Calling their initiative Tri4Ghana - A Triathlon Supporting Education, the teens are raising funds to help similarly aged youths in Africa go to high school, which costs $1,500 each per year (for tuition, transportation, books, room and board), an unaffordable cost for many.
The schoolmates were inspired to undertake the challenge following their participation in a pen pal program between their school and Royal Seed Orphanage in Kasoa, Ghana. The program has been running for the last five years, launched by teacher Jennifer Henrichsen, assistant head of school. Henrichsen volunteered at the orphanage during a threeyear stint in Ghana with her family as her husband, a geologist, was working in the area. While in Kasoa, she launched the pen pal program and maintained it upon her return to Bowen Island. "It's amazing to link the two groups of kids together because that personal connection allows them to see them as more than a face in a photograph... ." she says. "They. .. realize that kids are kids around the world regardless of whether they're orphans in Ghana with barely enough money to have food to eat, or fairly privileged kids here in Canada. They talk about soccer, they talk about pets, they talk about their aspirations, the things that they want to do in their life. Having that real person behind the face gives them a connection that I think makes it a much stronger empathy that kids here feel. It's a friendship more than just trying to help someone that they don't know."
While Henrichsen was in Ghana, the orphanage had approximately 120 children. Elementary and middle-school education is provided, though after Grade 9, due to a lack of funds, many kids are unable to continue with their education, in many cases taking on low-paying manual labour jobs. By allowing the youths to continue their education through high school, the hope is they'll go on to receive better paying jobs.
McKenzie's pen pal, Maxwell, is enrolled in high school, thanks to funding received. "He was very lucky... Now he's probably going to have a very good life," says McKenzie. "Hopefully that will stop the poverty cycle within his family so he can fund for his kids to go to a proper high school and their kids can fund."
Henrichsen is extremely proud of her students who brought the idea for Tri4Ghana to her in September 2013. "They had the idea that because they're all in their own fields in sports, they said 'It would be cool to match up all of our sports in a triathlon and it would also be really interesting to link our community at home... with our school community... .'" she says. "I said 'It's going to be a lot of work boys but I think it could be awesome.'" Ever since, the boys have been dedicated to their relay, seeking advice from highlevel athletes, undergoing training with professionals as well as are continuing to fundraise.
McKenzie will kick off the race, riding approximately 40 km from Deep Cove to Whytecliff Park. An avid mountain biker, he's been working on his road biking, including participating in regular MEC rides as well as spin class training at TaG Cycling. "From there I learned to build the energy to go up hills and go flat for long paces and I learned what my steady pace is to go a long way," he says.
Young will then swim 3.5 km across the water from Whytecliff in West Vancouver to Snug Cove. "I've always wanted to try to swim to Bowen Island, just to try to swim our commute, because I'm a competitive swimmer," says the member of Cruisers Aquatics. Young has been doing some independent training, working on his endurance. He's also been taking regular ice baths to acclimatize to the cold. He'll be accompanied by a safety boat during his swim.
Once Young reaches the Bowen shore, Duguid will run up Mount Gardner and back, around 12 km, finishing at Island Pacific School. "I originally started as a sprinter and I've had to transition to become a longdistance runner," says the
Norwesters Track and Field Club member. "That's been really tough. It's been a lot of power and working really hard to just get my lungs going to be more efficient."
A continued source of motivation is picturing the lives of his peers in Ghana and the challenges they face in their everyday lives. "That gets me up and that gets me going," says Duguid.
The trio's fundraising is also coming along. "Our first goal was to raise $10,000, but then we exceeded that goal and we also had an offer from a foundation called Sanctuary for Kids," says Young, explaining the organization has committed to matching their fundraising total up to $18,000.
Sanctuary for Kids, which was founded by Amanda Tapping, Damian Kindler, and Jill Bodie through their connection to the TV series Sanctuary, works to improve the lives of children around the world who need protection and are in crisis, including those who are exploited, dispossessed and threatened (sanctuaryforkids. org).
While the teens are most definitely leading the charge, they've been aided by their teacher as well as their parents with logistics as well as ensuring all safety requirements are in place for their respective relay legs, including connecting with B.C. Ferries to alert staff of a swimmer in the water.
"It's hugely gratifying, me seeing them work so hard for someone else," says Henrichsen. "They're not doing this for themselves. It's also gratifying for me because I know the students in Ghana that they will be helping."
She's also pleased with the role modelling effect the relay has had within their school, seeing younger students look up to the trio, planting the seeds for future initiatives, as well as the general school community helping with fundraising and raising awareness. "Our entire student body will be out cheering on the day of the race," she says.
When asked what impact Tri4Ghana has had on their lives thus far, the boys are quick to answer. "It's really good to feel this way. You're changing somebody's life that doesn't have the opportunities that you do and you're giving them this opportunity that we take for granted... ." says Duguid.
"It's the perfect kind of feeling. It's really changed me."
Young adds, "It's made me a lot more grateful for what I have."
McKenzie offers up something their teacher told them the other day: "'This is the biggest thing you've done in your lives,'" he recalls. "We've spent basically a year working on this project, putting everything into it.
In the future, we're going to think back on this and say, 'That was totally worth it.' It's going to make us who we are in the future."
Community members are encouraged to cheer the boys on at various points along their journey as they complete their respective relay legs. As well, the relay will be followed by an after party, open to the public, at Island Pacific School, a walkable distance from the ferry. To make a donation, come on board as a sponsor, to see the course map and timeline, as well as for information on the after party, visit tri4ghana.com or connect with the youths via their Tri4Ghana Facebook page or on Twitter @Tri4ghana.
