Christ the King School students who heard a Haitian priest speak about the poor conditions in his country have been empowered to try to make a difference.

When Christ the King School’s second- through fifth-grade student council held their first meeting in September, the representatives wanted to make sure to do a service project to benefit the people of Belle Anse, Haiti.

Father Nelson Andrefaite, the lead priest in Belle Anse, had spoken to the children about the poor conditions in his parish and students like fifth-grader Claire Martin wanted to help.

“We heard Father Nelson speak to us about the conditions in Haiti, and we thought we could do something about it,” she said.

For the past few years, CKS students have raised money for Notre Dame de Lorette Parish in Belle Anse. The money was used to buy a new generator, which provided electricity and fresh water for the town.

However, this year, the students wanted to do something specifically for the children.

The lower school student council held a candy sale in which all profits would be used to buy textbooks for the students at Transfiguration Catholic School in Belle Anse. The students’ desire to help the children in Haiti—along with their love of candy—led them to raise over $750.

This money will be extremely beneficial to the students and teachers in Belle Anse, and Father Nelson personally visited Christ the King to accept the check.

The teacher in charge of the lower school student council, Sarah Kate Wilson, expressed pride in her proactive students.

“I am so proud of these students. They took full responsibility of this project from the beginning and needed very little guidance,” she said. “I think they felt a real connection to the students in Haiti, and as a result, they gave their time, talents and treasures to help out their peers in Haiti.”