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Students’ global concern
(by Erin Patricia Griffiths - June 17, 2008)
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Staff Photo By Erin Patricia Griffiths
These are some of the more than 900 toothbrushes the Montvale Memorial School third-graders have collected to date.
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The students of Memorial School spend each day in classrooms filled with textbooks, supplies, and even colorful decorations that fill the walls. But 7,000 miles away on the continent of Africa, starvation and poverty in the nation of plague children just like those of Montvale, who enjoy the luxuries afforded to them each day by a country that can provide for their well-being.
When the students of Joan Merwede’s third-grade class learned that the children of were so poor that they could not afford toothbrushes they set out to provide them with help.
Merwede herself first became involved in helping the people of when she heard about the work of the niece of her best friend from college. Karen Sparacio is a photographer who left her career in newspapers with the goal of working with a relief organization. She went to and was devastated by the poverty she observed. Inspired by the people she encountered, Sparacio started a nonprofit organization, Project Have Hope, which helps Ugandan women to raise money through creativity by handcrafting bead jewelry. The organization has raised over $100,000 to date.
When Merwede heard about Sparacio’s efforts, she set out to provide help, spearheading a toothbrush collection that has spread school-wide. “I sent a notice home to parents explaining how poor the people are and how much we have in contrast. Something as simple as a toothbrush is a treasure to these people.”
The students were eager to get involved and contributed by gluing pictures of Ugandan children on brown paper bags donated by the Montvale A&P, and delivered the bags to each homeroom at Memorial School. The collection has already accumulated over 900 toothbrushes, and the students are hoping to collect at least 1,000.
Last year, Merwede acquired a box of the handcrafted necklaces and bracelets and sold them at Memorial School, raising $2,000.
Through these projects, the students are not only raising awareness of the devastating conditions in the war-torn nation of , but also learning a lesson in appreciation for all that they have.
The collection of toothbrushes will run until the last day of the school year on Monday, June 23.
Erin Patricia Griffiths' e-mail address is GriffithsE@northjersey.com.
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