SJC students helping build school in Africa
By MICHAEL SCHULER, Times Leader Staff WriterArticle Photos
BELLAIRE - Students in the St. John Central High School Interact Club are working to make a difference on a global scale by bringing the gift of education to a small village in Africa.
The Interact Club is sponsored by the Bridgeport Rotary Club and is the largest club in the Guernsey Street school. The club's 56 members are working to raise a total $8,500 to build a one-room school in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world.
The small African nation has an illiteracy rate of 60 percent and, according to senior Monika Figura, the children in Sierra Leone which the club is adopting currently have to walk 15 to 20 miles just to go school.
So far, the club has raised $2,000 for the project through a series of fundraisers. Students have worked the concession stands at the school's volleyball and basketball games - served a spaghetti dinner - and held flower sales.
They even had a "vow of silence" to raise money, which turned out to be their biggest fundraiser to date.
Interact Club President Kellen Homer said people pledged donations and students agreed to refrain from speaking and other forms of communication - even cellular phone texting for a 24 hour period.
The vow of silence day not only helped raise money, but was also done to help raise awareness by the students that some people in the world do not have a "voice" in their governments and life, Homer said.
Currently, the club's latest fundraiser is a sports cup sale. The high quality plastic cups are made in the United States and feature holographic logos and team colors. The cups are available for college football, NFL and Major League Baseball teams.
The cost of four cups is $12. To order the sports cups, people can contact the club's faculty advisor, Mike McFarland at St. John High School, 740-676-4932.
Bridgeport Rotary Club President Vince Gallagher said Rotary also sponsors an Interact Club at Bridgeport High School and is proud of the work being done by the students.
"We tell the student that Rotary is in your hands," Gallagher said. "We want to have young people establish themselves as active members in the community and to try and instill in them a commitment in service above self . . . We are very proud to have Mike (McFarland) as a faculty advisor for the Rotary Interact Club and look forward to a great year," Gallagher said.
According to Homer, it's a project they hope to students at the school continue to take part in for many years.
"We are hoping that students will be able to keep the project going," Homer said. "After the school is built, then they will need books and other materials. One day, I'd like to see them get a computer and then we would be able to talk."
Schuler may be reached at shoe@timesleaderonline.com
