When Clemens Mill Public School teacher Dana Papalia talks to her students about life in Haiti, she doesn’t have to look at the pages of any textbook.
After spending a year teaching in a small suburb outside of Port-au-Prince about 13 years ago, the Grade 7/8 teacher can teach lessons about world poverty straight from the heart.
“It’s such a poor country,” she said of Haiti. “Going there is like stepping back in time.”
Yet somewhere in the chaos that reigned in the country during her year there, she remembers how children felt happy and lucky just to have a plastic bottle for a game of soccer.
Those somehow seem like the good times now. Papalia can’t imagine the tragic scenes now playing out in the country in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that has seen more than 150,000 Haitians buried in government graves. She can’t tear herself away from news coverage about Haiti and relief efforts being co-ordinated worldwide.
That personal connection to Haiti helped fuel a school fundraising campaign at Clemens Mill. She put out a call to students, staff and parents for support.
“Having taught there for a year, I really felt compelled that we do something as a school,” she said.
That call hasn’t gone unanswered. In a matter of days, the school raised $4,000 through ticket raffle sales, cash donations and various fundraising events. On Friday, students paid $1 to wear a hat, $1 to chew gum and $1 to listen to an IPod, – at appropriate times – during the school day. Kids lined up for a chance to buy raffle tickets during their lunch breaks.
The individual efforts, many led by a group of students, have helped fundraising totals skyrocket by hundreds of dollars each day. And donations are still coming in. The school hopes to reach $5,000 before the end of the week.
While Papalia is overwhelmed with pride at how quickly donations have been raised by the school, she’s also energized by students’ genuine interest in learning about Haiti and how they can make a difference. It’s global issues playing out in real time.
“This is not a textbook,” she said. “This is not a documentary. This is part of real life.”
Donations raised by public schools in the district will benefit a number of charities offering aid to Haiti including the Canadian Red Cross and the Mennonite Central Committee.CambridgeTimes.ca
