U-Hi project blends education, aid
Tears filled the eyes of Georges Eliow, a refugee from southern Sudan, as he listened to University High School’s Chanteuse choir sing “Amazing Grace” at a school assembly Wednesday.
“English is still difficult for me, but I will try my best. Thank you very much for what you have done for my people,” said Eliow, a Dinka tribesman who has lived in Spokane since 2003.
He received a standing ovation from the 2,000 students and staff dressed in their blue “Stop Genocide in Sudan” T-shirts. Students sold more than 2,300 shirts for $5 each to raise money for their schoolwide genocide project. Eliow provided a human connection to the project.
At Wednesday’s “Day of Conscience” assembly, students presented a check for $26,000 to CARE, a humanitarian group that provides aid to the Sudanese. The donation is the largest in University High School’s history.
“I don’t think that I’ve been any prouder. It literally brings tears to my eyes to see what our school and community have done for the people of Sudan and Darfur,” said Daryl Hart, principal. “I’ve been involved in a lot of fundraisers over the years at a lot of different schools, and I’ve never seen the compassion and the commitment taken hold at a school or a community like it has here.”
The assembly was the third and final phase of the student-led project that began two months ago.
It started with the “education” phase when students returned from their winter break Jan. 3. The school was filled with graphic murals that displayed the atrocities of five genocides that occurred in the 20th century.
Phase two, “a call to action,” was launched at the Jan. 12 Martin Luther King Jr. assembly when students began selling the T-shirts and collecting donations.
A group of students spent two nights camping in single-digit temperatures last month to raise money and community awareness for the project.
Almost half the money collected – $10,000 – came from contributions from businesses and individuals in the community.
The original goal was to raise $10,000, but project adviser and social studies teacher Paul Schneider never doubted the school would exceed that goal. “I felt very positive. I felt proud of my student body. Five dollars doesn’t mean much, but with a community working together for a single goal, it can have a huge impact,” Schneider said.
“Many said we don’t care. Many said we have no reason to see beyond our own lives. But today we have shattered that myth,” said Kyle Bielen, a senior.
Parade Magazine this month named Sudan’s leader, Omar al-Bashir, the world’s worst dictator. The country has been embroiled in civil wars for decades. The CIA’s World Factbook estimates that in recent years at least 200,000 people have been killed and millions left homeless.
Dana Tseng, a development specialist with CARE USA, came from the organization’s Seattle office to accept University High School’s check. She told the students that their contribution will help the organization provide life-saving resources to more than 500,000 people in the Darfur region.
“We see high schools get involved, but I’ve never seen anything at this level. It’s really amazing,” Tseng said.
“Our money is only a part of this. What we’ve done here is make a statement,” Megan Stearnes, a senior, said at the assembly. “We will not passively stand aside and allow innocent people to die. Our generation will not accept that ordinary people have no stake in the lives of their fellow man.”