The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

14 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 20, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Students aim to increase their awareness of global poverty Continued from page 6 The participants will be paying their own airfare. The group will be in Guatemala from Oct. 6 ­ 17 volunteering at a global village. In addition to helping local volunteers build homes, they will experience Guatemala's culture, language, food and social practices as well as increase their awareness of global poverty. They will also be taking school supplies donated by Sue Raynor of St. Joseph's United Church. "We hope to go to Guatemala every two years," said Oliver. "It's a good way to encourage global citizenship and help kids think locally and globally and see the common denominator that all people are the same." The trip came about after Oliver, who was planning to go to Romania, and Maharaj, who was considering a trip to Brazil, decided to focus their passion on Habitat for Humanity and Guatemala. "This trip was born out of our personal life goals," said Maharaj. As the staff advisor for the Iroquois Ridge Global Issues Council, she was involved in helping students organize 30-Hour Famines, Halloween for Hunger and the hosting of a Habitat for Humanity speaker at the school last year. "After we heard this speaker, we decided to organize this trip," said Oliver. Upon arrival in Guatemala, the group will spend two days at Lake Atitlan, spend five days at a build site, visit local schools to distribute supplies, and visit Guatemala City and Antiqua to visit its ruins, volcanoes and local markets. The participating students will be asked to keep a journal of their experiences. "This trip would qualify for the 40 hours of community services hours students require for graduation," said Oliver, "but all of the students have already reached their 40 hours before they got involved in this project. "They are doing this because they want to, not because they need it for their 40 hours." And, to top it off, "the school administration has been great," concluded Oliver. "Without this support we wouldn't be going." For information or to donate, contact Emily Oliver at 416-526-0599 or olivere!@hdsb.ca or Vinita Maharaj, maharajv@hdsb.ca. ­ Wilma Blokhuis can be reached at blokhuis@haltonsearch.com. All the dough goes to a great cause. Tim Hortons is heating up for Smile Cookies, the fundraising effort that benefits both you and our community. Here's how it works: you buy a $1.00 double-sized chocolate chip Smile Cookie and we donate all proceeds to ERINOAK, helping children with physical, developmental and communication disabilities achieve and maintain optimal levels of independence, health and well-being.