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(From left) Anne Gilmer, Carla Bailey and Marilyn Joyal work on making magnets for upcoming sales at the St.Norbert's Farmer's Market. (PHOTO BY LINDSEY PETERSON)

It started when their children began Grade 9 at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé in St. Vital.

The act of being a humanitarian was introduced to the students, with an invitation to become one.

In 2007 — their graduating year — a group of dedicated students, helpful parents and guiding teachers traveled to Senegal to see the changes they had helped make during the previous three years.

Once the group of young humanitarians graduated from high school and moved on, the parents found themselves having trouble doing the same.

That’s how Reaching Across Borders was born.

"We couldn’t see it end, ’cause we saw a need there," said Reaching Across Borders member Marilyn Joyal.

Reaching Across Borders raises money by selling gourds, coasters, magnets, greeting cards, authentic materials and jewelry from Senegal.

The group members paint the gourds themselves, and even create birdhouses and small ornaments out of them.

As well, they stamp ceramic tiles with inspirational quotes to create the coasters and magnets. And with the fabric that was brought back from Senegal they create pillow covers.

Four years after the group’s inception, there are 12 members who meet weekly, eight families who participate, a couple of young students who have joined, plenty of gourds that need to be painted, an art room in Collège Jeanne-Sauvé that is a home away from home, and $49,074 raised since 2008.

Brittany Peto, a student at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, joined the group after she heard about it from her older sister.

"I think it’s really important that students show that they care about other people, so instead of being on Facebook all day I am painting gourds and making someone else’s life better," she said.

Peto said she hopes to travel to Senegal after she graduates high school in 2014 to witness the development her fundraising has helped make possible.

At the annual general meeting on Oct. 4, the group allocated the money it had raised.

"We still want to focus on the school we have a partnership with (in Senegal), College St. Esprit. We want to pay tuition for the kids. And we want to focus on literacy for women," Joyal said.

Sometimes there is a disconnect between what the group wants to help with and what the group in Africa thinks they need, she added.

"We meet women who don’t understand why they need literacy," Joyal said.

Reaching Across Borders members encourage the women of small villages to attend lessons that teach them how to read, and at the end of the lessons they will be able to get a loan for a start up business, Joyal said.

Representatives from two of Reaching Across Borders’ alliances and a church in Senegal go into small villages, and pick three female leaders from the community and give them the jobs of president, secretary and treasurer.

The women come up with a business plan and an economic activity that will be able to support their village. On average there are 20 families in a village and approximately $800 to $1,000 can start up a business for one village. One successful village decided to make peanut oil.  

As much as Reaching Across Borders helps families in Senegal, Joyal says it helps their families too.

"It’s become a social thing too. We’ve become one big family with different specialties," said Joyal.

Reaching Across Borders are casual vendors at the St. Norbert Farmer’s Market and will host their annual Christmas craft show at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé on Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.