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s . c astp c ) t a '\.g Deborah Crandall Chronicle Staff i Like most informed adults, Joanne Thorpe is aware of the plight of children in Third World countries. And like rMM’lwwm'smmMMN to help. . But when she heard reports of heinous crimes being gmd tted against street children in Guatemala, she ?u.ldn'tbeeomp'lmtlnym. \ Thorpe had been watching & noonâ€"hour news program television last month when she became aware of the gommmmmwmfinuam.mnm, international organization which works to provide program of the atrocities he has seen in Guatemala â€" of ?whnmelcuchfldmn,lefl:orphtmdlndahndonodhy ’rmdpqvaty.mbeingmnr&rd.mallybypol{ee,in an attempt to clean up the streets â€" of how drug abuse and prostitution is a way of life for children as young as eight and even six years old. This was too much for Thorpe â€" something had to be "Right at the end interview, Harris made a statement that once Mm aware of the situation and still don‘t do anything, that‘s tantamount to complicity,"* Thorpe said. "And for whatever reason that day, it really hit me. He was right. If we do know about it and don‘t do anything, that‘s silent approval." * So Thorpe approached the principal and teachers at St. Agnes elementary school in Waterloo, which her children attend, to see if a student letterâ€"writing campaign could be organized during Lent. Thorpe and teacher Carleen Van Dam began working on the project, which got underway with a specigl:â€"mass on Ash Wednesday and will continue through Easter. (Continued on page 5) ”“fituwfl run the program h“i&iuu”%-hm requested enrolment, the of the 19 Elizabeth Ziegler students are likely out of luck. Bettencourt said, last year parents of only seven kindergarten children expressed interest in enroling their children in a French immersion program, and subsequently, a Grade 1 French immersion program was not offered at the school for the first time in six years. "That‘s understandable, though. You can‘t offer the program for just seven students," Bettencourt said. "But this year, there are 32 students, in total, in two kindergarten classes â€"â€" that‘s 16 in each class. Now, 19 of the 32 have elected to have French immersion. But according to the board, numbers are numbers. And our children are out of (Continued on page 3)