Today 2,500 Grade 7 to 12 students, staff and family members from the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board set out on their 15th annual pilgrimage “Justice for the Poor”.

Students were walking and raising money through pledges to support projects in Uganda, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The pilgrimage began with mass at Cathedral High School and then students set out for their 8 kilometer walk\ . That’s the distance many people in the developing world walk daily to attend school or access drinking water.

Organizers say that it’s important to teach students about the value of giving to those less fortunate.

To date the school board has raised more than $600,000 for various charities in the developing south.