DCS students take action to help war-torn African kids
Duncan Christian School students like Nick Luney and Meagan Anderson are looking for donations of books and cash to help children in war-torn Uganda.
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Updated: November 05, 2009 1:24 PM
Images of children holding guns, of mutilated faces and sad eyes, pushed the peaceful student population at Duncan Christian School into action.
Now the secondary school students are fighting for the child soldiers of Uganda.
“A lot of us were surprised by what we saw — we didn’t even know about this, and it shocked us. A lot of people were in tears,” said Grade 9 student Meagan Anderson.
The students were reacting to a presentation from Invisible Children, an international organization that seeks to end one of Africa’s longest-running wars.
The conflict is between the Ugandan government and an armed rebellion led by Joseph Kony, the man responsible for abducting an estimated 30,000 children for use as soldiers in his army.
“I realized that we could do something or we could let it slide, and this is definitely one of the times when you want to do something,” said Anderson.
“I’d personally like to do as much as I can to help the cause.”
The students have joined Invisible Children’s S4S (Schools For Schools) project, raising money to build and provide resources for schools in Uganda.
Anderson also hopes to enlist the help of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in her campaign to help Ugandan children, and wants to present more screenings of Invisible Children’s documentary.
“I want the community to see it, to hopefully open eyes a little bit more,” said Anderson.
About 20 DCS students are spearheading the S4S effort at the school, raising funds and collecting books before a mid-December deadline for the 2009 campaign.
“I felt that being part of a school that has so much, we should be helping out others who don’t have what we do,” said Nick Luney, a Grade 12 student who invited Invisible Children to DCS.
A donation bin for books has been set up in the high school’s foyer, and students encourage anyone who’d like to get involved with the campaign or is thinking about donating to contact them at kickinitoldschool@hotmail.com.
To learn more about the program, visit www.invisiblechildren.com.
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