uOttawa BuildWoW attempts to win sponsorship to help build school in Nicaragua
Illustration by Brennan Bova
IS THERE A more Canadian way to bring people together than a poutine-eating contest?
The University of Ottawa chapter of Building Walls of Wisdom (BuildWoW) competed in Smoke’s Poutinerie’s campus edition of the world poutine-eating competition Oct. 13. The reward is a $2,500 sponsorship from the poutine restaurant.
If uOttawa BuildWoW posts the best time out of the 11 university organizations across Canada who took part, the chapter will donate the money to help fund the building of a school in Nicaragua. The results will be announced Oct. 25.
Jennifer Viscosi started the new student club after she was inspired to make a difference while studying at the University of Sydney. During her time in Australia, she took a trip to Fiji. All she’d ever heard about the island was how beautiful its beaches were, but the most striking thing she saw was the extreme poverty.
When she thought of her own Western privilege, Viscosi realized how little it would take to help provide opportunities such as education to people in less fortunate circumstances.
Around the same time, she read an article on the Telfer School of Management’s website featuring U of O alumnus Russ Morgan. In 2009,
Morgan founded BuildWoW to combat barriers to education through fundraising for the construction of schools. Apart from the money the organization is raising for Nicaragua, BuildWoW has secured funding to build schools in Kenya, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, and Ghana.
“It really touched my heart,” Viscosi said. “I feel like this is my way to be able to give back.”
Viscosi contacted BuildWoW and they suggested that she start a chapter at the U of O. She agreed and rounded up other students to form the new club. They then established an executive council and began the process of getting recognition from the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa.
When the school year started, Viscosi read about Smoke’s Poutinerie’s campus poutine-eating competition at CampusPerks.ca. The restaurant already holds an annual worldwide poutine-eating competition in Toronto, in addition to this year’s campus competition.
The first challenge in the competition was getting votes online in order to be nominated to compete; the U of O’s BuildWoW got the most votes out of the 11 schools competing. This allowed them to reach out to a lot of students.
“Being able to associate our club with Smoke’s allowed us to get our name out right in September, when everyone’s coming to university,” said
Viscosi. “They’re like, ‘Oh, we see them giving out free poutine; what are they doing?’”
The second challenge was the poutine-eating. Students from university organizations across Canada gathered on their campuses in teams of four to compete relay-style for the best poutine-eating time.
In the courtyard in front of Morisset Library last Saturday at 1 p.m., four U of O students surrounded by supporters ate boxes of poutine as fast as they could in hopes of getting a record time.
They prepared by ripping parts of the boxes off for easy access, keeping a bottle of water handy on the table, and having numerous backup forks within reach. Barely chewing, the team finished in five minutes and 29 seconds as fellow students cheered them on. They will find out how their time stacked up against the other competitors’ on Oct. 25.
Viscosi hopes to plan more events to help raise awareness and funds for other schools through BuildWoW, something she encourages students to be a part of.
“Get involved in whatever it is you’re passionate about and you feel can make a difference,” Viscosi said. “Go after it; nothing’s impossible.”
You can visit UOttawa BuildWoW on Facebook to get involved in future events.
