Journey Of Hope - Fall 2018 Journey of Hope 2018 | Page 28

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by Janell Arneson
Both
mountainous and
beautiful, it’s hard
to tell the difference
between pictures of British Columbia and
Afghanistan. However, if you look beyond
landscapes, the contrast is startling. The
differences didn’t stop the sixth and seventh
graders at Chemainus Elementary in British
Columbia from helping their counterparts
half-a-world away.
Their teacher, Mr. Michael Dunn, read the
book Three Cups of Tea (written by Central
Asia Institute’s co-founder) in the summer of
2017, and was greatly moved by its message
of community. As a result, Mr. Dunn decided
to begin his 2018 school year by discussing
what it means to be a community — from the
smallest scale, like the community within his
classroom, to the much larger scale of what it
means to be a community worldwide.
“The book has such a great message about
what a worldwide community can look
like,” Mr. Dunn said. “Looking to complex
26 | JOURNEY OF HOPE
global problems that require international
cooperation, is such an important lesson
to instill in today’s youth.”
The students latched on to the idea of a
global community and jumped at the chance
to help children in need. They came up with
the idea to make their own grape jelly and
sell it to raise funds for schools and school
supplies. Mr. Dunn described the process.
“We worked for two weeks taking turns
making jam, while their lessons continued.
When we were done we had over two
hundred jars of jelly.”
Chemainus Elementary students quickly
sold out of their delicious grape jelly, but
they didn’t stop there. They felt they hadn’t
done enough, so they found another way
to raise money for girls’ education in
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Each
student created a piece of artwork that could
be turned into a homemade card.
“They braved two very cold days and went
down to the local grocery store and sold
them to the community.”
All told, Mr. Dunn and his students raised
$1,500 to send overseas for school building
and school supplies.
One student, Maple, sums up the experi-
ence and what it means to her:
“We have so much, and they have so little,
so it is cool to be able to contribute what we
have to help them,” she said.
The students in Central Asia are so grateful;
grateful for the support and grateful for the
connection with students on the other side
of the globe. While these two communities
might not be close geographically, they
now share a closeness of spirit. The war-
torn villages of Afghanistan will forever
be connected to a small-town elementary
school in British Columbia.
Thank you, Mr. Dunn and students at
Chemainus Elementary for being heroes
to so many young children and their
communities. You have given them the
tools to pursue their dreams and make their
own future. l
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE