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Local teens paying it forward

Twin sisters Rae and Kylie Lattery, 14, know firsthand what it’s like to face an uphill battle.
Rae and Kylie Lattery, 14, are fundraising to build low-income housing in Mexico. They are close to their goal, but still need help from the community through a bottle drive.
Rae and Kylie Lattery, 14, are fundraising to build low-income housing in Mexico. They are close to their goal, but still need help from the community through a bottle drive.

Twin sisters Rae and Kylie Lattery, 14, know firsthand what it’s like to face an uphill battle.

About three years ago, Rae was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which saw her endure more than two years of chemotherapy treatment at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.

Fortunately, the type of leukemia Rae was diagnosed with is one of the most curable forms of the disease, and today, she has a clean bill of health.

However, the Lattery sisters have not forgotten the struggle they endured. Together, Rae and Kylie are paying it forward.

The two are fundraising to travel to the Ensenada region of Mexico next month to help build homes for low-income families.

“Everybody helped us when Rae was in the hospital, and they did a lot for us,” Kylie said. “So we just thought this was a great opportunity to give back.”

“We’re going to be building three houses for families in Mexico that really need help, kind of (giving them) a kick start,” Rae added.

The initiative is part of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation’s Teen Leadership Program, which both sisters became involved in towards the end of Rae’s treatment. In the program, for teens aged 13 to 17, they have an opportunity to develop leadership skills by helping plan the group’s year-round camp, as well as community programs.

“It teaches you leadership skills and lets us give back to the community,” Rae said. “The goal is to help people.”

To achieve their goal, Rae and Kylie will join a team of 15 children from the Teen Leadership Program who will be taking part in the Mexico project, led by the Calgary West Rotary Club. This is the second year the Teen Leadership Program has traveled to Mexico for the project.

The Rotary Club travels to Ensenada on a regular basis to build homes in the community. The families receiving the homes are incredibly poor and live in squalor conditions, Rae said. In order to qualify to receive a home, Kylie said the family’s income must be less than $200 a month.

The trip in March will include building three 300-square-foot homes for three low-income families.

“Each family will also be getting a furniture set as a surprise,” added Rae. “They think it’s just a house they’re getting, but there’s also a table and chairs, a gas stove and a bunk bed.”

The houses are simple, consisting of just one room without any plumbing, but it is still shelter they wouldn’t otherwise have, the sisters explained.

The most challenging part of the experience will be the short timeframe. The group will be building the three houses over only two days on March 11 and 12, said Kylie.

However, there will be 35 team members from the Rotary Club, along with their friends and family members, assisting with the construction.

To help raise funds, the sisters held a garage sale on Feb. 5.

“From that alone, we raised over $1,150 from donations just from friends and family,” said Kylie.

Other fundraising initiatives include selling Longview Beef Jerky and holding a bottle drive at the Okotoks Bottle Depot.

As of Feb. 10, Rae and Kylie have raised $1,500 between the two of them. They need to raise another $500, but would like to raise even more if they can.

“We thought that if we could manage to raise a little more than that, then we could maybe even help out another family,” Kylie said.

To help with the fundraising, people can donate bottles marked “Rae and Kylie Lattery” or “Mexico Home Build” to the Okotoks Bottle Depot.

The deadline for fundraising through the bottle drive is Feb. 28.

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