So the year is obviously rolling to an end now that it’s Dec. 29, and I’m sure you’re all wondering what exactly EAC has done this year. Well unfortunately, since this is our charter year, first semester wasn’t incredibly successful. But I suppose it depends on your definition of success.
In late September, we invited Invisible Children to come to RBHS and screen their movie in the planetarium for students to watch. The majority of the sophomore World Studies classes attended the screenings, but we also kept it open to outside students. The planetarium was packed for both hours! Invisible Children sent their MidWest “team,” which consisted of three volunteers as well as a young man from Uganda who had personally been affected by the LRA violence. For more information, click here. Jafri, from Uganda, had been captured by the LRA and had been a child warrior under Joseph Kony. Watching the movie and hearing his experiences were truly moving. Being able to talk to him one-on-one after the screening too was just such a fantastic experience and was a real treat. I mean, how often are you going to get the opportunity to talk to someone like that? Not often is the correct answer.
So that was kind of the kickstart of EAC. After the screening, there was a lot of interest in the club, and we decided that we wanted to have more concrete goals and a clearer direction for the club.
So we decided that our first semester goal would be to raise funds, and we were planning on getting more involved during second semester. Raising funds for what, you might ask? Well come January (which is in 2 days now), an English teacher from the Gulu Senior Secondary School in Kampala, Uganda will travel to Columbia as part of a teacher exchange program. She will stay with our sponsor, Katherine Sasser, and shadow her to learn more about our schooling system. You can read more about it here.
But this is our first big project as the EAC. To bring Adong Jacqueline (the teacher) to RBHS, we needed to raise $1,000. We were not, however, successful in this goal. Sasser paid all of the money up front, but we still want to raise the money to pay her back. So even though we wanted second semester to be more about activism and involvement, I think we’re really just going to focus on raising the rest of the money — which you should definitely help us with! Keep an eye out for any EAC events to help us make this teacher exchange a success.
On the brighter side, we’re still SUPER excited about Adong’s visit. We have already planned for the club to get together at the Sassers’ house and cook up a big, typical America meal for her and eat together. I’m especially excited about that! One, because I love food; two, because I think food is a great way to bring people together; and three, because I love food. I guess you could say I’m a “foody.” But if you join EAC, then you would get to sit down and have a meal with a Ugandan teacher. That’s a once-in-a-life-time opportunity, that is. Don’t miss out.
Just being involved with EAC thus far has led to meeting some amazing people and learning so much more. You can still get involved! We’re an exceptionally open group of people and would love to see some new faces. So don’t hesitate to join us. Help us make a change.
By Trisha Chaudhary