After the screaming and dancing ended at some point reality would set in that I had won 40 million dollars. I would spend some on myself to get a few things I likely don’t really need and I may even share a bit with my sisters but my parents would want me to make better use of it than to just give it to the owners of TNA clothing and Coach stores. 40 million seems like a lot of money at first but the real value is in what is done with it.


If I wanted to help people in Haiti rebuild then 40 million really doesn’t seem like enough to make a difference. Looking at the devastation makes me realize that I would only be able to make small impact in the lives of a few. I would be worried that with all the corruption and gangs taking control in that region the money would find its way into the wrong hands and no good use would come of it. OK. Enough about what I wouldn’t do, I think I can pin point what I would do and it may still involve Haiti.


School. When I think about my days and how great they are at SJK, I wonder if why other kids don’t get to have the same experience. What if my money could create that experience for many other kids. My parents have always told me that my job is to work hard in school and to enjoy the opportunities I have because I am fortunate. I have finally come to the conclusion, that in this case my parents are right. I think about kids in other parts of the world, but also kids right here in Canada who don’t have a safe place to be educated, they don’t have breakfast, and they don’t have the support of teachers and family that can give them a good start. Imagine being a girl in the Middle East who is not allowed to learn, has no school to go to, and risks her safety is she wishes to break those rules. Think about a girl in Africa who has dreamed of going to school with her friends but can’t afford the dollar a day to go. A dollar a day gets her school, breakfast, lunch, and books. I could put a lot of girls into school for a long time and even build a school with 40 million.


How could that change a society if I invested even half of the money in building schools and educating children and their children and so on in a single city or country? I think it I could change the world for those people at least. Their lives would change because they could move from the poverty of the fields to the cities where they could compete for jobs, where they would be paid real money, and where they could raise their own families. Once established they could bring their extended families to the cities where they could find work and get consistent food and health care. Those people could then return to the fields to help locals build, find water, improve farming, and of course build schools. And the cycle continues.


I think that if anyone has been given that much money they should really think twice before giving it away to sellers of clothing, bling and things that they honestly dont need, and look to make it keep on giving to others.