Purdue University North Central will open its International-Multi-Cultural Week celebration on Monday, April 12 at 10:30 a.m. in Library-Student-Faculty Building Assembly Hall, Room 02 with guest speaker Judy Lorimer. 
This event is free and open to the public.
Lorimer will speak about the "Build a School in Africa" program, an organization dedicated to building schools and bringing education opportunities to African children. Lorimer, a retired kindergarten teacher, is project director for "Build a School in Africa" and is responsible for the construction of five new schools in Africa. She travels to Africa twice a year, and while she does not physically build the schools, she works with educating children about nutrition, gardening and other essentials. She will include a brief film presentation on the six schools that she has built in Mali, Africa and will be bringing African artifacts to display from her travels.
There will be time for questions from the audience.
Every year Lorimer, of Massachusetts, funds $10,000 for the "Build a School in Africa" foundation with money she raises. Her goal is to build one school a year. The schools cost about $30,000 to build and are funded solely through contributions. Lorimer is careful to ensure that the school buildings reflect their village and that members of the community are involved in the planning and construction of the school.
The PNC Social Work Club will present her with a donation to help with the current project of building another school in Mali, Africa. This is one of several projects undertaken by the Social Work club this academic year. Other projects have included raising money for Dunebrook, a children's advocacy center in Michigan City, sending packages to Marines in Afghanistan and presenting holiday gifts to families in Michigan City.
Lorimer will be guest lecturer the class, Social Work 359: Macro Practice: Human Service Organizations and the Community. She will review the students' efforts in their class project of a school in Africa. While this is a proposed design and not an actual school or program, the students are learning the process of creating a school in an area without such a facility.
Lorimer will visit other classes on campus to speak to students and answer questions about her efforts in Africa.