Classroom on wheels brings Holocaust education to Maritime students

A bus travelling through the Maritimes is delivering important messages to young students about the Holocaust and human rights.

The "Tour for Humanity" is a program by an Ontario non-profit called Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

The 30-seat bus is visiting New Brunswick for the first time this week, with instructors delivering education to students across the province.

"We want students to leave the bus with a sense of knowledge that anti-Semitism, any other forms of hate, they still exist today,” said Marie Louise Puevas, an educator in Oromocto, N.B.

For the students, it's a new setting to learn about world history.

"We’ve been talking about this in school a bit, about the Holocaust. But I learned they weren't just taking Jews, they were also targeting people with disabilities and that were a different race,” said Grade 8 student Claire McGuigan.

"I was surprised by how big the bus was. I walked out and it was intimidating, and also we learned about this guy … him and his wife were in the Holocaust and they both survived and they wanted justice and it was good to hear,” said Grade 7 student Sophie St. Nicolaas.

"We learned some new things about what went on in Canada, like how there was slavery and stuff,” said Grade 7 student Ethan Baker.

The educational sessions aim to help empower people of all ages and backgrounds to raise their voices and take action against hate, intolerance and bullying.

"It's been interesting to compare those experiences and knowledge, because I may be teaching them here now, but I'm also learning from them as well," said Puevas.

Since its launch in 2013, the "Tour for Humanity" has visited nearly 1,000 schools, reaching more than 175,000 students, educators and community members.

The bus will be in New Brunswick until May 12 before heading to Nova Scotia.