Heather Berry, English and Social Teacher at Hazelton Secondary School, was reading A Long Way Home by Ishmael Beah to her Grade 11 class, a novel about child soldiers and the effects of war on children.

In a class discussion, one student mentioned it was difficult to imagine the experience and the world they were reading about, so Berry—a self-described "spontaneous human"—said “well then, let’s go!”

So how do you take 30 Grade 11 students to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for two weeks in 2023? You start slow and fundraise until your head spins.

Their fundraising activities include a year-long bottle drive for all neighbouring communities of Hazelton which includes Smithers, Telkwa, Kispiox, Hagwilget and Witset. Anyone who wants to donate their bottles can send Berry a personal message on Facebook or to her school email address and she’ll come pick them up.

They’re also holding a concert in Hazelton in May, an electronics raffle and during the summer, and the students will be hosting youth volleyball camps, child minding services, a salmon raffle and more.

The class is raising money as a group: there are no individual donations to ensure one student makes it. The democratic approach allows for all students to experience world travel.

Berry is confident in the positive effects of travel for young people. Some of these students have never left British Columbia, or even their hometown. 

“We feel that (travel) might help students to decide which career path to follow, or what to do after high school, which can be really scary," Berry said. "Maybe this will encourage them to see more of the world and step out of the bubble that most of us live in in our first world lives.”

Listen to Pamela Haasen’s full interview with Heather Berry to learn how to donate and to help the students travel: