WORDS INTO DEEDS develops friendships among students in America and Africa, and then transforms empathy into humanitarian action.

Problem

Students and teachers need to learn the power of words to transform passive learners into social activists and environmentalists, humanitarians, artists, business partners and friends. Building friendships through the written word can inspire young people to respond to the needs of others while learning about different cultures and expanding their sense of empathy and connection.

Solution

WORDS INTO DEEDS entails working with teachers here and in Uganda to develop a written-word exchange between students which includes a variety of creative and artistic forms of expression that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards for Writing & Social Studies; challenging students to develop fund-raising campaigns, using a variety of media and communication tools that fulfill curriculum standards; and providing assistance to teacher and student-ambassadors to travel to Uganda to work collaboratively to improve their schools and share resources and pedagogy. Providing the opportunity to act as ambassadors for this effort is the most authentic way to demonstrate true caring and commitment while empowering students to become leaders and role models for humanitarian action.Showing up, not just paying up, teaches the value of commitment and follow-through, while building a more enduring relationship between our communities.

Example

Beginning as pen pals and poets in 2009, my students learned through an exchange of letters, memoirs and poetry that many of their pen pals were orphaned and their families had to struggle to provide school fees. Privacy is a primary concern to young adolescents, and when they learned that the latrines at the Bupala School did not have doors, they were motivated to respond and reach out. My middle school students generated imaginative fund-raising solutions and raised $5,000 to build a latrine for their pen pals last year! The students developed skills as entrepreneurs, public speakers, accountants, and agents for change by enlisting their parents and the community in their appeal. This summer I am travelling to the Bupala School, hopefully with some student representatives, to complete the construction of this latrine. Providing the opportunity for more students to travel to Uganda would allow them to see, firsthand, the power of words to manifest change and help others, while developing ambassadors for social activism.

Marketplace

WORDS INTO DEEDS is a grassroots classroom project currently fundraising to complete its first initiative. Other teachers I’ve talked to are excited about the idea, but to the best of my knowlege there are no similar projects ongoing in my region. The idea’s classroom orientation would seem to place it outside of direct competition from service organizations with regular programming. Our partners in Uganda are Women and Youth Services NGO in Kampala, the contractors and volunteers in the village, and the teachers in the rural schools who inspire their students to pursue an education against unimaginable odds.