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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 5, 2014 | 8 Teens help provide water, school in Ecuador by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver While many students spent their summer relaxing, five Oakville youths worked overseas to bring clean water to a community in need. White Oaks Secondary School students Austen Lynds-Martin, Daniel Moll, Eric Mun, Julian Chiovitti and Ian Rourke spent two weeks in Mondaña, Ecuador recently helping to build a pipeline to provide residents with clean water. "It was a lot of hard work, but we had community members helping us. That definitely made it a lot more engaging. You knew it was for them and they were helping build their own clean water supply," said Lynds-Martin. "We ended up digging a kilometre-long trench to lay the pipeline for the water. I've never done anything quite so intense." Lynds-Martin, who is a member of White Oaks' Free The Children club with two of his friends, heard about the service trip at the most-recent We Day in Toronto. "Two other friends were going on the same trip, so five of us ended up going. We signed up pretty early and we fundraised to go," said Lynds-Martin. They were inspired after hearing about the "lifechanging experiences" fellow club members had volunteering overseas, Lynds-Martin said. "Since we were involved in all of the fundraising aspects of the trips, we wanted to go on one to see what it was like in developing countries. We wanted to see it for ourselves and have a hand in helping directly," said Lynds-Martin, who has Since 1952 Carpet Cleaning Specialists Five friends who helped build a water pipeline in Ecuador this summer, hosted a soccer tournament at Oakville's North Park upon their return to raise funds to build a school in the same community. PIctured, from left, are: Julian Chiovitti, Daniel Moll, Eric Mun, Ian Rourke and Austen Lynds-Martin. | photo by Chantal Ayotte ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) On The Spot! Residential & commeRcial Wall to Wall FURnitURe & UPHolsteRY aRea RUGs PeRsian & oRiental Create your dream Truck Mount In-Plant Service Water damage Restoration See the transformation of what we can do in relation to others! h t a B r o n e Kitch VOTED BEST CARPET & RUG CLEANERS 14 YEARS IN A ROW! drop-off discount! 25% 20 years experienCe | Quality Craftsmanship | Custom designs DIAMOND FREE 250 mL SPOTTING BOTTLE www.onthespotcleaning.ca Bronte Call for a Free Estimate 905-825-4256 1446 WaLLacE Rd. OakvILLE, ON QEW Speers Wallace 905-844-3332 Visit our showroom: 333 Wyecroft Rd. Unit 3, Oakville www.aromakitchens.ca been involved with the Free The Children club for three years. The 16-year-old said living in Ecuador for two weeks was an "eye-opening" experience. "It was pretty incredible to see what it was like in a developing country. You see what their lifestyle was and how different it is from our own. They got electricity two weeks before we got there," said Lynds-Martin. The White Oaks students were "greatly impacted by the different lifestyle" of Mondaña residents, LyndsMartin said, and wanted to do more to help upon returning to Oakville. The five friends hosted a soccer tournament Aug. 27 to raise funds for a new school in the village. The tourney, which took place at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, raised more than $330 towards the school's $10,000 construction. The competition featured eight teams of six. "We had a great turnout and we raised a lot more money than we thought we would. We had extra donations and we sold Freezies and water," said Lynds-Martin. Ward 5 Councillor Jeff Knoll organized a movie night at Castlefield Park recently, inviting the White Oaks students to sell popcorn, which added $220 to their fundraising. "We were able to use the soccer fields because of Mr. Knoll. He was definitely a big help in getting us to where we are," said Lynds-Martin. Due to the Amazon rainforest's wet climate, classrooms require stilts for protection against floods, Lynds-Martin said, noting the buildings must have specialized rooftops that "muffle the sound of the rain inside." "Now they have tin roofs, so when it's raining, it's really loud in the classroom and students can't hear the teacher. Their simple design and construction make these classrooms ill-suited for life in the Amazon rainforest," said LyndsMartin. He described the rooms as "very rundown," with bars placed on some of the windows, which resemble "prison cells." The students want to organize more fundraisers to help build additional schools in Mondaña and surrounding communities. While Lynds-Martin hopes to return to the village some day, he also wants to visit other countries if the opportunity arises, he said. "As students who are only just entering Grade 11, this trip was an eye-opener to all of us and we all feel very strongly about doing our best to help those we met on this incredible trip," said LyndsMartin. "I definitely would like to keep in touch with the people there to keep an eye on what's going on."