Yet another young Cochranite will be showing her humanitarian spirit, this time during an upcoming volunteer trip to rural Kenya.
Karlynn Reid, a Grade 10 student at Bow Valley High School, will be travelling to a community in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya, where she will work alongside other young volunteers and community members to construct a school.
The adventure began for Karlynn last fall, when she attended the Calgary leg of We Day in October. Following entering her name in a raffle, she was one of about 200 contacted to participate in the school building initiative, run by Me to We in conjunction with the Free The Children charity.
“I’ve always wanted to help someone in a big way and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Karlynn, who has career ambitions to become a paramedic. “I’ve always wanted to save lives.”
Free The Children originated in 1995 by Craig Kielburger, a 12-year-old Canadian boy. After reading an article about a south Asian boy — also 12 — who died fighting for children’s rights, the attention and heart of the seventh grade student from Ontario was captured. After getting some fellow schoolmates on board, Free The Children was born.
Today, the organization has an international reach, involving more than 1.5 million youth.
Including Karlynn.
For the 15-year-old, this trip to Africa has been a dream in the making. Her mother, Cathy Reid, said her daughter has had an Africa fund set aside for years.
“She’s wanted to follow her dream for a long time,” said Cathy. “She’s always wanted to help people. Karlynn has always been the child who would run across the road to throw coins into a musicians basket.”
Karlynn came by her desire to give honestly. One Christmas season, she and her family drove up and down the streets of Calgary, doling out warm chili and bags of cold weather goodies.
Her biggest inspiration though, is her great-uncle Gordon Maland, a Saskatchewan farmer who sponsored a number of African children. Following his passing, Cathy said the family had to call up about 80 different charities to cancel his yearly donations.
“My great-uncle was always such an inspiration to me,” said Karlynn. “I’ve always wanted to make him proud.”
The avid volleyball player will take off on her quest on July 19, landing in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. After a good night’s sleep, she’ll depart for the Free The Children community, where she’ll be living with three other volunteers in a tent for the three-week duration of the opportunity.
In addition to the construction and community development, she will be learning all about the area’s traditional culture, a venture Reid said she’s excited to undertake. She’ll take language lessons in Swahili, learn about the region’s health and social issues, and will even participate in a “water walk,” where she’ll travel with village women to the Mara River to collect water.
“I don’t even know what to expect,” said the teen enthusiastically. “Right now I’m just so overwhelmed. I’m looking forward to learning about the cultural similarities and differences.”
As for her family, Cathy said they are extremely supportive and proud — and maybe just a little nervous.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” she said. “It’s hard to send your daughter across the world on her own.
“(Karlynn, her father and I) talked for hours about it. She told us ‘if something goes wrong, at least I’ll be doing what I was meant to do.’ How could I say no to that?”
Of course, a volunteer trip like this needs to be funded. For the months leading up to her departure, Karlynn said she’ll be campaigning to raise about $6,000 for the voyage. So far, she’s collected more than $1,000 in donations.
To support Karlynn and Free the Children, visit her donation page at my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1696626&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=direct%2fnone.
