Several students from Hamilton (Ontario) District Christian High School were honored on February 3 by the Ontario Council for International Cooperation as Global Changemakers Youth Ambassadors. They received their awards in Toronto.
They were honored for their initiative “Let Kids Be Kids,” through which they are raising funds for human trafficking prevention. The students were nominated by World Renew, the relief and development agency of the Christian Reformed Church.
“It really solidified the work that we have been doing over the past two years,” said group member Victoria teBrake, a member of Faith Christian Reformed Church in Burlington, Ontario. “We could see that God had been with us every step of the way throughout this project and was encouraging us to share our story with a broader community and challenge others to use their gifts.”
The “Let Kids Be Kids” group formed in June 2013 when a group writing a research paper were motivated by a World Renew presentation on human trafficking at the All Ontario Youth Convention. After completing the paper, the students wanted to put their project into action. To date, they have raised $14,022, funds that are matched three to one by the Canadian government and directed to World Renew’s work that supports communities in Nigeria and Senegal. Their goal has been to raise $15,000 by graduation in June 2015.
The group was honoured to receive this award. “We can see that others are excited to see the work that youth are doing, and are willing to lend their support in any way that they can to see Christ’s kingdom advance,” said teBrake.
About the Author
Krista Dam-VandeKuyt is a member of Kemptville CRC and lives with her family in Ottawa, Ontario.