While many Canadians may complain about flooding or debate over fluoridation, students at McLeod Elementary School are just thankful for what they have – and they’re sharing the wealth with less-fortunate people in Ethiopia.

“We came up with the idea to have a water project this year because we are involved with Destination Conservation within our district and it’s a program to get kids thinking and aware of their environment and how they can help out planet earth,” said Principal Danyell Dutka. “This year was the year of water.”

One of her students told Dutka that since Canadians were so well off, the school should help people who aren’t.

“I went, ‘Oh, that’s very global thinking,’ ” said Dutka.

She went on to research possibilities to put the students’ good will to use, and that’s when she came into contact with David and Teresa Plante, who are part of Hope International, an organization that assists people in developing countries.

Dutka and her students decided they would sell tote bags and water bottles, aiming to raise $1,000 to help build a water system in Dishkel, in the Bonke District and Derashe Region of Southern Ethiopia.

But that little school of 39 students raised an astounding $1,307.95. Tote bags and water bottles sold out in their first shipment almost immediately, said Dutka.

“It was great to see the kids involved. They were the ones who had to go out sell it and explain to their customers why we were doing this project. They took the initiative to do that, and it was great to see.

“We have 39 students enrolled in the school this year, so to raise over $1,000 we thought we did pretty darn good.”

Earlier in the year, students had seen a presentation by David Plante and did some research on their own about the conditions in Ethiopia.

“They realized how lucky we really do have it here in Canada with all our fresh drinking water,” said Dutka. “I think it did hit home with them that globally there are people around the world who aren’t as lucky as we are in Canada.”

The Plantes came to McLeod this week to thank the students and show off their 1992 Mustang, which is decorated in pictures of people and countrysides in Ethiopia.

Teresa Plante, who has firsthand experience with the situation in Ethiopia, said she and David came to the school to celebrate the great work the students did.

“For a school this size, that’s just amazing really,” she said.

In past experiences, Teresa said that upgrading – or in fact, putting one it at all – water systems in Ethiopia helps so much more than just water quality.

In one village, she saw a 50 per cent reduction in malaria cases, as mosquitoes no longer bred in the slough near the people. Water disease dropped by a factor of 10 times. Before that, Teresa said the death rate for children and elderly people due to water disease was about 50 per cent.

“It makes a big difference when you have clean water,” she said. “Then it spills over into they can have vegetable gardens, use excess to sell vegetables, generate some income.”

Even local cattle were doing better, who before were covered in sores and looked quite diseased.

“The children also showed a difference as well,” said Teresa. “The first time we went there, the children would have a lot of sores on their face and legs and distended bellies and parasites are fairly common, and when we went back that was quite a bit better. If you can see such a difference in just three months, you can just imagine what a year will bring.”

Her goal in that water system project was to have people in the village able to access clean drinking water in just a 10-minute walk.

“Before that, it could be half an hour to three hours to get water, and it’s walking that far to usually get awful water.”

She said creating this global understanding of needs has to start at the youth level.

“I think when you get involved at the school age level, it really starts you off with thinking about community rather than just yourself all the time. I think it’s the start of an education that will continue throughout their lives. It’s a first step. I think that they do have an understanding of what it is and that’s part of why we’re here today – to help them understand what they’ve done, because it is amazing.”

David Plante, who showed off his Ethiopia-decorated car with burnouts in front of the students, couldn’t stress enough the change these 39 students made in the lives of hundreds if not thousands of Ethiopians.

“They are in a community that is not that close, so the resources they had to raise money was minimal, and the amount of money that they have raised has saved a life – it has saved several lives,” he said.

Student Catherine Benterud, in a presentation following the car show, explained why it was an important project to her and her classmates.

“We wanted to do it because water is the most important thing on earth,” she said. “Canada has a lot of clean water, but Ethiopia doesn’t.”