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Start
of Educate!
Continued...
I
will never forget the day when Benson invited me to
eat dinner at his home. His home was a run down mud
hut no larger than the size of an American bathroom.
Inside his home he had a wooden stool, a few books
to write in occasionally and a hay bed - those were
all of his possessions. For dinner we each had one
ear of maize that he had grown in his garden. Benson's
garden was small and I could tell how precious the
food he harvested from it was to him. Normally, Benson
would not eat much more than our dinner in a day.
Benson
told me about his family. His parents, two brothers
and two sisters had been murdered by rebels as they
fled to Uganda. Benson was the only member of his
family to reach Uganda alive. He was 14-years-old
at the time. From the age of 14, he had learned how
to fend off deadly diseases, grow his own food and
survive in some of the worst conditions imaginable.
Even more impressive than Benson's ability to survive,
is his warm heart, kind personality and great sense
of humor in spite of his past hardships. Benson became
more than a friend to me; he was a role model.
Before
I left Uganda, I wanted more than anything to help
Benson lead a better life. I asked him how I could
do this, and we both agreed that the best way was
to help him receive an education. At school he would
eat three meals per day, sleep in safety and receive
a quality education for a bright future - all for
what a new pair of tennis shoes would cost in the
States.
I
took Benson to a good school in Kampala, the capital
of Uganda, where we enrolled him as a student. When
I got home I was amazed by how easy it had been to
give Benson a new life.
I told my friends about Benson, and they were interested
in his story and how so many of his problems were
solved through education. After seeing how interested
my friends were in the problems of the refugees in
Uganda and how they could help, I started Educate!
to give students the chance to help refugees in Africa
go to school.
Educate!
is now a completely student-run organization. Members
of Educate! Student Clubs raise the money for Educate!
Students to go to school, learn about the lives that
refugees lead in Africa, and develop valuable friendships
with the Educate! Students, which provide an excellent
cross cultural educational experience for both sides.
Our
goal is to help the Educate! Students learn the skills
they need to one day grow up and fight the larger
problems of disease, poverty and war that exist in
Africa. We have so far been successful, as one can
see from the success of our students,
and I look forward to many more successes down the
road. I believe that Educate!'s students will be the
leaders in Africa's development in the future.
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