By Karlee Worobetz

One St. Thomas More student has set out to raise the awareness of child poverty--trying to make a difference in his school and throughout the community.

Joey Merrit attended a youth conference called Sharing Resources 2000 in August 1998 in Kemptville, Ontario, sponsored by The Students Commission and TG Magazine, after reading a brochure provided by the school. The conference raised Merrit's awareness to the rising problem of child poverty in Canada and he came back with yearning to raise this same concern and understanding in Fairview.

On November 23,1989, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a proclamation stating: "this House...seek(s) to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000. The Student Resource Commission now reports that there are 500,000 more poor children currently in Canada than there were in 1989.

After Merrit came back from the conference he began thinking of ways to raise the awareness of this problem locally. With the help of St. Thomas More principal Dr. Dan Kingdon, Merrit, started his campaign to raise awareness in the community and at STM. One way was by holding an assembly at the school.

The objective was to educate the junior and senior high students about child poverty by emphasizing the importance of the issue and stressing the point that Fairview is not exempt from child poverty. In his work as a teacher and principal, Dr. Kingdon has noticed the effects of poverty among children in classrooms across Canada and in Fairview.

There are elements in Fairview and Alberta that reflect common trends across the country," said Dr. Kingdon.

With the help of Dr. Kingdon, Merrit began a local petition that was circulated throughout STM. More than 140 signatures were gathered and the petition was sent to Peace River MP Charlie Penson. The statement asked what progress the House of Commons has made up to this point in realizing their resolution. There has been no response as of yet.

Merrit feels that child poverty is unnecessary in a country such as Canada, which has the resources to prevent the problem.

"In a country as prosperous as Canada we have the resources to deal with this problem. So there is no reason that it should even exist," said Merrit.

The Federal Government has started to act on its commitment of eliminating child poverty by the millennium, by providing 100 per cent health care funding to children whose parents gross income is $20,000 or less. Prescription medicine, ambulance fees and optometry will also be covered under this new plan. Dr. Kingdon feels that solving the problem as a whole will not be an easy task.

"Help must be offered in a way that respects the dignity of these people and they must also be involved in the decision making process, otherwise it is paternalism," explained Dr. Kindon.

Merrit will continue to focus on raising the awareness of child poverty throughout the school and community. He is planning to attend another seminar sometime in the next few months.