OP-ED Contributing Piece

One Counselor's View January 19, 2006
Paul Foster
Director of Guidance at Kearsarge High School
603-927-4261 Ex. 234
North Sutton NH
pfoster@kearsarge.k12.nh.us

This young generation's time has come !!!!

TIME Magazine did a big splash in its last issue on the work of Bono, Bob Geldorf and Bill Gates and his foundation in fighting world poverty. These guys are for sure local heroes and as an activist I admire their efforts enormously. However, I can't help feeling that something is missing. I remember back in the late 60's as a high school student being radicalized by apartheid in South Africa and the fight of the Czechs for their freedom from the oppressive Soviet Empire; fond memories of sitting in at the London School of Economics because they wouldn't divest their shares from South African and working for SHELTER a new British charity that was committed to fighting homelessness. Sure there were later battles, opposing the ouster of the democratically elected President Allende of Chile, the invasion of Nicaragua by the contras. But the raw energy I felt as a teen was formidable. I really believed I and my schoolmates could make a difference and make change happen.

And so I turn to this generation of high school and college students, the generation that has seen the globalization of the world and who are daily bombarded with images of children dying in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Timor, Darfur. I want to say to them: "It is your turn. There is a battle here that you can win. We will leave you this planet. It will be yours. Millions of children in the world don't have to die because they don't have access to immunization or food or clean water. Education should be a universal right yet millions of children can't get an education because they either can't afford it or they have no schools to attend. Unfortunately our government doesn't have the political will to fix the daunting problems facing children in developing countries. But students here and in Europe can take on the cause. And some of them are about to.

Student -to- Student is a new national and international non- profit that is based on a very simple premise; students in our communities can connect with students in the developing countries and offer support and vital resources. The organization will have a website up soon in three languages, English, Spanish and Chinese (Student-To-Student.org) that will facilitate connections between students in USA and Europe and those in the developing nations. This year it will be applying for a million dollar Gates Foundation Health Grant. Local Student to Student groups are forming to raise money and invest in several projects overseas, Maybe supporting an AIDS orphanage in Ethiopia, building a classroom for a school in Timor, sponsoring students so they can attend school in Bangladesh. The list is endless. The web site will allow international charities and local leaders in communities in developing countries to prioritize their needs and then local Student-to-Student groups can pick their projects to support.

A group of students at Kearsarge Regional High School in North Sutton are the first to organize a local Student- to- Student Group. On January 20th 1:30- 2;30 pm. they will have a formal launch with a symposium that will feature a number of speakers about different projects in developing countries together with a multimedia show. At 4:00 p.m. the movie Born into Brothels will be shown. At 6:30p.m. there will be a Salsa workshop --a warm up for a live performance by the famous Upper Valley Cuban band Black Beans headed by Maricel Kenniston, 7:30 -10.00.p.m. Tickets for the workshop and dance will be $6 or $10 ( with a 20% discount off an annual membership to Student-to-Student) for students and $8 dollars or $16 ( with membership) for adults ( $14 for faculty of all the surrounding schools.) Admission is open to all students and adults in the Upper valley though the dance may sell out. The Kearsarge students in Student to Student will meet in February and decide how to allocate the money the fund-raiser has generated as well as a $1000 gift the group recently received.

The Student-to-Student movement will take several years to pick up momentum. It is a simple yet powerful idea. Students here in the west can reach out and connect to their brothers and sisters in the developing nations. They can relate directly to what it must be like not to be able to go to school or have clean water or have a roof over your head.

I hope others schools will follow in Kearsarge's footsteps and develop a local branch of Student-to-Student. If this young generation really got together to fight hard on this issue it would indeed be a powerful force for change. Maybe they need just a little nudging.

Paul Foster is Director of Guidance at Kearsarge High School. He is the founder and CEO of the non profit Student to Student in England and USA and is the advisor for the Kearsarge Student-to Student group. He can be reached at pfoster@kearsarge.k12.nh.us.

Donations can be sent to Student-to-Student c/o Paul Foster, Advisor, KRHS, North Rd, North Sutton NH 03260.