[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/SEED-students.jpg” caption=”Robert Borzyschowski and Meghan Bruni dip their bicycle wheels in the Pacific Ocean before starting their bike trip across Canada to raise money to help African children pay for school. Photo courtesy of Meghan Bruni.”]Going to school is a necessity for Canadian children, but for many children around the world, it's a luxury that few can afford. That's why two McMaster students are biking across Canada this summer to give African children the opportunity to get an education.

Meghan Bruni, a political science student, and Robert Borzyschowski, who studies engineering and society, started their 7,000-km journey in Vancouver yesterday and expect to arrive in St. John's, Nfld. in late August or early September. They will travel about 100 km per day, camping and cooking their own meals along the way.

The students are raising money for Students for Education, Empowerment and Development (SEED), a non-profit organization that supports human development projects. The organization's scholarship fund helps orphans and vulnerable children attend primary school in Africa.

“Last summer, I travelled to Kenya and Zambia as a SEED intern, interviewing children in three schools to receive education scholarhips from individuals in Canada,” said Bruni. “This year, we were unable to get all the kids sponsored that we had planned, and I really want these kids to be able to go to school. The hope is that through our bike ride and fundraising, we can put all the SEED kids in school for September.”

The students are collecting donations on the SEED website. The money raised will help pay for tuition, uniforms, books and school supplies for students at Humwend Secondary School in Kenya. According to SEED's website, 95 per cent of the students have lost one or both parents. It costs $130 for a student to attend the school for a year. SEED's goal is to raise $10,000 to keep the school running and support other SEED schools.

“I met a number of people who were unable to afford the fees to write certain exams…and thus had no credentials and could not get a decent job, even though they were very smart,” Borzyschowski writes in his blog on the SEED website. “I also met a number of rural families that could not afford to send their children to school because their help was needed on the farm, often due to illnesses of some of the family members.”

Bruni and Borzyschowski will graduate from McMaster this year.

To make a donation, learn more about SEED or read the students' blog, please visit the SEED website.