A school in Ghana is getting much-needed improvements thanks to students at Mississauga Private School.

Some 300 energetic students, aged five to 18, participated in a walkathon to raise funds for the Bill Proctor Children’s Centre in Kutung, Ghana.
They succeeded in raising $9,430, which will go towards two new classrooms and more latrines.

Parents also showed their support by matching the donations collected from the walkathon. The centre is the initiative of Mississauga Private School owner and Applewood Acres resident Dianne Proctor, who lost her son, Bill Proctor, 42, to a brain aneurism in 2006.

Proctor chose to honour his memory with her vision to help break the cycle of extreme poverty for children and families in Africa. Working with Christian Children’s Fund of Canada, the Bill Proctor Children’s Centre has evolved into a concrete building consisting of six rooms. The facility has two rainwater harvesting tanks, a playground with recreational equipment, furniture and a nutrition centre.

“She wanted to do something more meaningful to contribute to the bigger picture, which matched her vision of self-sustainability for the village of Kutung,” said Dorothy Tam, CCFC Director of Major and Planned Gifts.
The centre was intended to provide education and care for children under six years of age.  However, due to the low literacy rate and lack of educational opportunities in Kutung and surrounding villages, the Bill Proctor Children’s Centre now boasts an enrollment of about 100 children of varying ages.
In addition to instituting an annual walkathon at the Etobicoke-based Mississauga Private School, Proctor organized a garage sale to provide ongoing funds for the centre. Both fundraising activities have grown to mammoth proportions.

Proceeds from the first walkathon, held in May 2007, were used to build two rainwater harvesting tanks at the centre. “Even the little kids really understood the need,” said Ivneet Garcha, a student and executive member of the Charitable Association of Mississauga Private School. “The idea of not having pencils and paper, far less a computer, is incredible to them.”

“Being able to walk for this cause really made us feel involved...we felt we were directly helping and impacting the final outcome,” said fellow student Cassandra Lanzino.