On June 6th we travelled to Belleville to visit Albert College. Njacko was performing at their Junior School as part of their Francofête day to thank them for doing some fundraising for Ecole St. Ablert Le Grand. It was a beautiful day! Mme.Evelyne Proulx, the French teacher for the Junior School, planned a beautiful day full of art, music, stories, food and games all around the theme of Africa.
All of the children and teachers at the school were wearing beautiful handmade kaftans that were made by volunteers. The gymnasium was full of bright and glorious colours! We learned that the kaftans were purchased by each and every child in the school to raise money for St. Albert Le Grand. Can you imagine? They called their business "The Albert + Albert Company" - a small school-based business in Belleville helping a small school-based business in Bazou - how perfect! We were each given a kaftan too - even baby Nkoni! Have a look at Albert College's website for a glimpse of the show.
After Njacko's performances, they invited us up to the stage to receive the donation. They presented us with a cheque for their contribution. We were speechless!! Such generosity!!
In addition to this incredible donation of $3,150 from Albert College, the staff at Annunciation School took up a collection and donated $175 from their own pockets. All together, we raised almost $5,000 in our final year of fundraising for St. Albert Le Grand!
We are in touch with the school, and will be dispatching funds to them in two instalments. The school is considering how to best use the funds, and once they have their decision, we will sent the first sum. Unfortunately, we learned late in June that some of the school roofs had been damaged by inclement weather, but fortunately the school has begun repairs using money they've earned with the business. Here is a glimpse of the damaged roofs:
We will post again once we hear back from the school. All the best!
Njacko and Val
