One Fort Lauderdale student raised the equivalent of 72,000 pesos to help better the education of kids she doesn’t even know, thousands of miles away.
Nikki Taggart, 17, traveled to the remote village of Florencia, Colombia, to fulfill her goal: equipping needy kids of the "Institucion Edcuactiva Los Andres" with a computer lab.
"I feel like kids in Florencia have nothing there – their education system is so poor that computers are really going to have a big impact on their learning system," said Taggart.
Florencia is an impoverished place situated in a region that had been under siege by farc rebels for decades. Due to the threat of terrorism and kidnappings, businesses, tourists and even most Colombians have stayed away.
In between homework and track meets, the Calvary Christian student raised $25,000 in donations – the equivalent of 73,000 in Colombian pesos – from family and friends.
"It made me so happy to see that. So many friends and family were willing to give me money out of their pocket to help a school they don’t know in another country," said Taggart.
Her gift of computers, chairs and other school supplies will aid students whose homes have no running water, dirt floors, no air-conditioning, and barely a roof to block out the 100-plus degree temperatures.
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The Fort Lauderdale teen received a big reception on the day she arrived at the school to open the computer center. The school showered her with performances by children and a number of awards. The teachers said she changed and improved the lives of the children.
The school had gone from three tablets shared by 600 kids to 30 new desktop computers, thanks to the teen.
"I wanted to enhance the learning of this school so that the children could experience, so they could understand the outside world, so they could understand things better," Taggart said.
The teen says her inspiration for this mission is her mom – and it’s making her proud.
"I was raised in poverty and to see my daughter going to a town like that," Taggart’s mom said. "I know what it is like to live there. I know what it is to go to bed hungry, to go to school and not having books or pencils."
No one is more touched by Taggart’s generosity than the children she helped.
"Thank you to Nikki for the computers and thank you to everyone else who helped," said one thankful 8-year-old. "No one has ever done anything like this for us."
And as if that weren't enough, Taggart also decided to help out some of the students with achieving their soccer dreams.
While Taggart was there, she was told a team didn't have proper shoes, uniforms or enough soccer balls to join a local league. So she brought them uniforms, cleats, balls and other equipment, and now they've been admitted to the league.
"I also saw that a lot of their playgrounds are rundown. I really want to make this really cool playground for them," Taggart said. "I want a playground - maybe in the main city - that all of the kids can enjoy, with their families."
