.: Guest speaker makes lasting impression on F.J. McElligott students :.
Monday, March 9, 2009
By: Cody Lacelle, Riley Clarke, Jessica Groulx, Krysta Warkentin & Ashley Joanisse
After five years of living in Kenya, often in a mud hut with no electricity, Daniel Lipparelli continues to expand his development work abroad by talking to high school students. On Tuesday, February 24th, Lipparelli visited the small Northern Ontario high school of F.J. McElligott.
Lipparelli’s presentation included poignant pictures and stories to emphasize the work that Transformed International does. Transformed International is the organization Lipparelli founded five years ago. With the help of people like Sandy Foster and her team Hope2Kenya, which included fundraising efforts by F.J. students, the foundation was able to build a school within three months. The pre-school acts as a community center, a church and has been running successfully for two months now.
After five years of living in Kenya, often in a mud hut with no electricity, Daniel Lipparelli continues to expand his development work abroad by talking to high school students. On Tuesday, February 24th, Lipparelli visited the small Northern Ontario high school of F.J. McElligott.Lipparelli’s goal was to inspire students and tell them that no matter what age you are, you can make a difference. “I love this age group,” stated Lipparelli. “People constantly tell me that young people can’t make a difference; I know you can!”
Lipparelli went on to say, “Right now you may think, ‘Poor Me,’ I don’t have the nicest house. ‘Poor Me,’ I just broke up with my girlfriend. ‘Poor Me,’ I don’t have the best clothes.” His words were heard clearly by all who attended because they were true. Grade ten student, Riley Clarke, echoed this sentiment, “He meant to show us that if we change our thinking from ‘Poor Me’ into ‘Poor You’, we could help a lot of people.”
Lipparelli’s presentation included poignant pictures and stories to emphasize the work that Transformed International does. Transformed International is the organization Lipparelli founded five years ago. With the help of people like Sandy Foster and her team Hope2Kenya, which included fundraising efforts by F.J. students, the foundation was able to build a school within three months. The pre-school acts as a community center, a church and has been running successfully for two months now.F.J. students left the presentation motivated once more to raise money. They are hoping to exceed their fundraising efforts from last year. Students are also writing letters to Kenyan high school students to better grasp the reality of life for a teen in Kenya.
As the student body left the presentation, is was evident that Lipparelli’s message was clear when Carrie Resmer exclaimed, “His presentations get better every time.” Students look forward to his next visit.
posted by Daniel Lipparelli
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