LaSalle's primary school raises money for young students in Sarajevo

The children from this international elementary school in LaSalle have been taking part in this project named, Operation Smile, for the second year in a row. In 2006, they raised $550, which allowed the Canadian Forces personnel serving in Bosnia to buy 72 books for the Bosnian schools library.

This partnership between the two schools and the Canadian Forces is the initiative of Chief Warrant Officer Joe Nunez, a reservist from Montreal. He started the project while deployed in the Balkans in 2005. “My son Christopher was having a hard time while I was overseas; therefore I tried to find a way to have him participate in what I was doing over there. Going through the school was the best way to get him and the rest of the kids at Children’s World Academy involved.”

When he got back from Bosnia, Chief Warrant Officer Nunez visited his son’s school to show the children what happened with the money they raised. “I showed the picture of the library they have over there, a lot smaller than the one they have here. It opened their eyes.”

On November 14th, while students of the Children’s World Academy were gathered in the school gym to watch photos and a video on Operation Smile II, students of grade 5 and 6 were attending a presentation about the situation in Afghanistan. Operation Smile is not in Afghanistan yet but the children clearly demonstrated an interest in what is going on over there. During his presentation Corporal Peter Burcew’s, a reservist from Montreal who served in Afghanistan in 2006, was surprised to see that almost all the hands were up to ask question: «Do girls go to school now ? Where do you sleep while you are over there ? What are the most dangerous explosives ?»

Operation Smile is far from over. Children’s World Academy’s principal, Mr. David Meloche, assured us that his school would fulfill his part of the partnership for Operation Smile, as long as the Canadian soldiers will be there to give books to the kids. The third edition of Operation Smile has already been launched, “Our objective is nothing less than twice the amount that was been raised last year.”