Markham students send school supplies to Kashechewan evacuees

Morning North5:42A gift from the south for Kashechewan kids

Some kids in Southern Ontario are sending 200 backpacks to Kapuskasing for students from Kashechewan who are there waiting for their homes to be repaired from flooding. The CBC's Olivia Stefanovich spoke to some of the kids involved in the project.

Children who were evacuated from a community on the James Bay Coast in Ontario's far north are getting much needed support after their homes were flooded.

About 100Kashechewanstudents are living in the town ofKapuskasing, several hundred kilometres from home, while their homes are repaired.

Students from two elementary schools in Markham, Ont., decided to sendschool supplies to the students from Kashechewan after hearing about their situation.

Boxwood Public School and Wismer Public School are sending backpacks full of school suppliesto the evacuees this week.

"They've obviously studied Malala, Craig Kielburger, and they're doing this great work internationally standing up for education around the world.I think the students felt compelled to do somethingabout the inequity in education here too,"saidCindy Sisti, a teacher and librarian at Wismer Public School.

Boxwood Public School teacher Libby St-Jean says each bag includes an inspiring note, which may be more treasured than the pencils and paper.

"They wrote letters and a lot of the letters said things like, you know ,'We've got your back.We're on your side."

ArvindArulraj, a Grade 6 student at Boxwood Public School, said students "want to make allies with the kids inKashechewan.We just don't want to do something good and get it over with."

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus is helping to co-ordinate the delivery of the backpacks. He saidthe gesture symbolizes the start of a transformingchange for the displaced students.

"We want the same standards that kids in Timmins or Sudbury have," he said.

Angus saidthe students living on the reserve in Kashechewan will receive school supplies too. He isworking with a non-profit group calledTrue North Aidto drop off donations in the new year.