The One Dollar For Life movement, which originated at Los Altos High School, is making worldwide waves as it continues to focus on funding the construction of school facilities in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Kenya.

One Dollar For Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded to address Third World poverty by collecting $1 annually from each of the 23 million U.S. high school students and channeling the donations into small-scale infrastructure projects in developing countries.

Members of the group work with registered, non-profit nongovernmental organizations to implement carefully screened building projects to improve self-sufficiency in poor countries.

The result of the collaboration is a sense of ownership and efficacy among U.S. students, and improved capacity for self-development in the partner countries, according to Robert Freeman, the Los Altos High instructor who spearheaded the organization.

For the project to function effectively, One Dollar For Life needs to spread to as many high schools as possible, Freeman said. Currently, approximately 30 campuses operate groups, with to number expected to triple this year.

Locally, Los Altos, St. Francis, Pinewood, Gunn and Palo Alto high schools participate in the annual One Dollar For Life fundraiser, with students at Egan Junior High excited to jump on the bandwagon this year, Freeman said.

Los Altos High conducted its One Dollar For Life campaign in the fall, raising approximately $2,200, or $1.32 per student. Students plan an outreach to other schools to encourage their participation in the spring.

Money raised at Los Altos High will fund construction of a girl’s school in Kenya.

One Dollar For Life participants have traveled internationally to see the fruits of their efforts firsthand, and to help with construction themselves, including trips to Kenya in 2007 and Nepal in 2008. Last summer, a group of students visited Nicaragua to build a new elementary school classroom in the village of San Martin.

The village’s previous school, which served preschool to sixth-graders, overflowed with more than 150 students jammed into three substandard classrooms. The school, originally constructed in 1992, was in a state of disrepair. One classroom was divided with a sheet of black plastic to provide a separate space for preschoolers.

The newly constructed facility directly benefits 97 families that live in San Martin, as well as smaller surrounding communities. Local students, parents and residents pitched in to support the project.

Lisa Bolton, a Los Altos High teacher involved in One Dollar For Life, said participation in the Nicaragua trip was high, because students were eager to practice their Spanish-language skills. Freeman said the group aims to keep trip costs down so that more students can participate.

“We have been able to serve a broad group of kids,” he said.

Future projects include construction of additional elementary school classrooms in Nicaragua and El Salvador and a high school classroom in Kenya.

For more information, visit www.odfl.org.

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