York Town News
School to school: York teen's project will help equip a school in West Africa
By Jennifer L. Saunders
ACROSS AN OCEAN. That is where York High School senior Emma Power will be sending the school supplies she has collected since December and will continue to collect in the weeks ahead. What began as a project for her Advanced Political Studies class has grown beyond the classroom walls as she has worked to share information about the need for a school in Sierra Leone with the York community.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - In Rofutha, a small village in Sierra Leone, children go to school in an open building with a thatched roof in a community where 90 percent of the population has never learned to read and write.
For York High School senior Emma Power, her own access to educational opportunities has proved to be an inspiration to help change all that.
"It has made me think a lot about how lucky we really are," Emma said, taking some time to discuss her community service project before checking supply donations at Coastal Ridge Elementary School last week. "Half of these children have never held a pencil before."
Through her Advanced Political Studies class with teacher Richard Clark at York High School, Emma began a project to collect school supplies for Partners for Education in Sierra Leone, a non-profit organization devoted to building an elementary school in Rofutha. For the course, half of the year is spent on economics and half on citizenship, Emma explained.
In recent weeks, Emma brought her project to the community, seeking the support of York residents - and the donation of school supplies by local children for other children - to help support the Partners for Education effort.
"I started with the whole idea for the project back in October," Emma explained, adding she then began visiting classrooms in York's schools in December to share her project with local students and teachers.
At Coastal Ridge and Village Elementary Schools, for example, boxes are already being filled with the supplies most needed, which include paper, pencils, erasers, construction paper, children's scissors, crayons, markers, tape and glue.
Emma said she is not alone in undertaking such a project, as the students in Advanced Political Studies have been at work either reaching out at the school or community level as part of their course work. She said she began thinking of the "global community" with regard to her project, and as her aunt has been devoted to the Partners for Education project, she was aware of the merit of the cause.
"I've heard her talking about it for the past year or so," Emma explained. "I wanted to let the kids here know about what's happening, and the response so far has been amazing."
While this project portion of the class has ended and Emma has reported to her teacher and classmates on her effort for her academic grade, she said she is happy that the work itself goes on. In a class like this, she said, part of the process was learning that what happens in the classroom has an impact outside the school's walls - something she said she and many other students have learned as their projects continue.
In addition to collecting supplies in the local schools, Emma has opened the project to the entire community. Items may be dropped off at the office of The Independent on York Street during regular business hours (11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday) between now and Feb. 5.
Tax-deductible donations for the construction project may also be sent to Partners for Education in Sierra Leone c/o Dr. Pamela Goss-Power, P.O. Box 975, Lebanon, NH 03766.
"The actual construction of the school is still in process and funds are needed," Emma said, explaining the organization is about halfway to the goal of $77,000 in funds raised. "Monetary donations are greatly needed, and 100 percent goes to the charity."
For more, e-mail partnersforeducation@gmail.com.
Next week, see a special report in The Independent on another special project underway, this one for children in Kenya, being undertaken by students and teachers at Coastal Ridge Elementary School.
