Auction at Hotchkiss supports Kenya institute

LAKEVILLE — Hotchkiss School students raised more than $11,000 dollars at a recent auction to benefit the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER) in Kenya.

Affiliated with Duke University’s Global Health Institute, the mission of WISER is to improve educational, economic, and health outcomes for girls; create gender allies in boys; and promote community-wide enhancements in health and development.

For the past two years, WISER@Hotchkiss has been particularly involved with WISER’s all-girls boarding school in Muhuru Bay, Kenya, a village where only 5 percent of girls make it to high school. Some Hotchkiss students have visited the Muhuru Bay area during a service trip there during spring break.

Some Salisbury Central School students are now making friends in Muhuru Bay, too, through a pen pal program sponsored by the WISER Club at Hotchkiss.

“Eleven thousand dollars goes a long way in Kenya. It can buy books, beds, school and medical supplies and equipment,†said Stephanie Thomas, the club advisor to WISER at Hotchkiss. “The auction was a wonderful way to have students, teachers, parents, and the whole community come together for an important cause, and to make such a large impact in the lives of many.â€

For more information about WISER, visit wisergirls.org.

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