Kenyan trip to be a life changing experience for Neepawa student

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Published on Wednesday, May 7, 2014

By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson

myWestman.ca

This summer, Grade 10 NACI student Hailey Rannie will be setting out on a life-changing trip.  

Travelling to Kenya with “Free the Children”, Rannie will spend almost a month doing volunteer work that will include building a school. She will leave July 31 and return August 21.

Rannie has been a member of HOPE since the group started and is excited about the trip, which will be her first time leaving Canada. The trip was provided though sponsorship from Blackberry and from hundreds of applicants, Rannie was one of 25 Canadian students selected to receive the sponsorship. She has never met any of the other participants.

Rannie will land in Nairobi, Kenya and will travel to Maasai Mara, where her volunteer work will take place. In addition to building a school, other activities will include Swahili lessons as well as a safari.

Rannie is looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to help others as well as meet students from different backgrounds. She’s hoping to bring home leadership skills, friendships and an understanding of another culture she can share with people back home.  She also hopes to be able to empower other students with the knowledge that you don’t have to have a lot of money to help others and make your dreams come true.

While the cost of the trip is covered through the Blackberry sponsorship, Rannie has been fundraising to cover the cost of incidentals and equipment she will need to bring, as well as to have some money to spend while in Kenya. 

Following her trip, Rannie hopes to continue to volunteer globally as well as locally.  

“I want to continue for a long time,” she said.

In photo: Hailey Rannie

Photo by Kate Jackman-Atkinson