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What's inspiring us about kids (& a kind teacher) who are changing the world 🌏

We had the BEST surprise when Mr. Anthony “Tony” Rupoli and his class of 7th & 8th graders at Macphail Memorial Elementary School in Ontario, Canada helped fund healthcare for 13 Watsi patients. In Mr. Rupoli's class, valuable lessons of empathy & kindness are not just being taught but practiced in real life by introducing kids to patients on Watsi, learning about their conditions, and helping to support their treatment.

Mr. Rupoli shared: “I really want to get them hooked on the idea of giving and charity in general. They have selected who they'd like to donate to and I would like them to have the option of choosing someone in particular as I think it has a real impact (and is in part why they love Watsi).” 💙

A photo of Andrew, a Watsi patient who had hernia surgery with the help of Watsi supporters.
Mr. Rupoli’s class supported Andrew’s hernia repair surgery. Andrew is a 6-year-old from Uganda and currently a student in junior class himself.

In spite of balancing so much right now, seeing classrooms around the world make Watsi part of how they're learning kindness, curiosity, compassion, and the magic of human connection is absolutely inspiring. We set out to learn some big lessons ourselves from these young world-changers by asking a few simple questions. We hope their words leave you as inspired as we feel. The future is bright!☀️ ⤵️

Q: What inspires you to want to help others?

“I am inspired by my sister Jessica and the fact that it is making someone’s day better” Jacob B “It feels good to help others in need” Connor D “I love my life and I would like everyone to have the experience that I have in the world” Kenna H “Giving back makes me feel good because my mom has MS and it sucks” Kinsley M “I chose him because I can't imagine being a 12 year old and having bad pain and almost being paralyzed.” Chloe W “Something that inspires me to donate is people being nice and kind to me. So, I want to be nice to others.” Lily R
A photo of Darith, a preschooler who needed surgery in Cambodia.
Mr. Rupoli’s class helped Darith, a pre-schooler, who now feels so much better after his ear surgery. He's happy to be back to playing with his toy trucks! 🚚 🚛

Q: How does giving back make you feel?

“It makes me feel like everyone deserves something and everyone loves happiness.” Jacob B “When I give back it makes me feel special to that person because I just made their life a bit better.” Kenna H “It makes me feel nice because I know that this money is going to a good place.” Lily R “It makes me feel happy that I can help.” Chloe W
A photo of Victor who underwent life-saving surgery for his birth condition.
Victor underwent life-saving surgery for his birth condition. Mr. Rupoli’s class donated money on Watsi to directly fund his medical treatment.

Q: What would you like to tell the patient you helped?

“I would say as long as you are alright that's all that matters because I know how it feels to have a family member with problems and she is alright now” Jacob B “I hope you feel better and get back to school soon” Connor D “I would like to tell them to work hard for everything they want and to and I loved that I could help them. I hope that because I helped them, they will help someone else one day.” Kenna H “If I ever saw the person that gets the money I would probably ask them how it feels not to go through the bad days anymore and I hope they're feeling so much better than they were” Kinsley M “I want to tell the patients to think positive and everything will be ok and all work out.” Lily R “I hope you feel better and can be a kid again” Chloe W
"I want to tell the patients to think positive and everything will be ok and all work out." -Lily R "I hope you feel better and can be a kid again." -Chloe W

It’s empowering for us to see that everyone (no matter their age) can help change another person's journey through a moment of kindness and compassion. It reminds us of the joy we had when we learned how some of our supporters have introduced their children to Watsi through the simple idea of Save. Spend. Give. and woven this into the fiber of being a family that values helping others.

We all have causes we believe in and a positive change we’d like to see in the world. 🌏  What better way to create lasting change than to raise the next generation to be kind, compassionate, and generous. Our world sure needs it. Thank you, Mr. Rupoli, for your dedication to your students and for creating such meaningful, life-long (and life-changing) lessons in your classroom.

If you're a teacher, first off, thank you!! Secondly, we hope you'll introduce your class to a patient on Watsi and share your experience with us at connect@watsi.org. As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

💡
What do you find about kindness and being a helper that resonates best with kids? How do you approach talking to kids about helping others?


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The Watsi Team

The Watsi Team

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