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Learning
About Liberia
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Most U.S. students would find it hard to imagine walking for days to get to a school that had no electricity or textbooks, but that’s the reality for many kids in African countries. That’s why one group of Girl Scouts decided to reach out to kids their age, and in the meantime, promote peace. Kim Riemland (reem land) reports. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: Southfield, MI)
(Sound of African drums)
These Girl Scouts are going beyond their history books to learn about a country thousands of miles away.
Briana Ratchford, 13-year-old Girl Scout: “I didn’t even know
that there’s a country of Liberia before I got involved in this
program.”
Barbara Talley, Director, Detroit West District Peace Center: “What
we're trying to accomplish, is that for our young people to broaden
their perspective of just their little closed world of the United
States.”
Girl Scouts from Hope United Methodist Church in Southfield, Michigan,
near Detroit, organize a peace rally every year. This time they printed
up passports for Liberia Night, to learn more about the West African
country.
Kierra Adams, 12-year-old Girl Scout: “It takes several days for kids to get to their schools and that Liberia is not a very wealthy country, it's not wealthy at all. They have no running water and they have to drink from the river.”
And the students are reaching out to Liberian students, as pen pals.
Breana Wilks, 12-year-old Girl Scout: “Told them about myself and what school I go to.”
Nia Gamble, 13-year-old Girl Scout: “I think it's a
cool experience that I can talk to and communicate with somebody in
another country. And I think it's a good thing.”
There are also lessons from a United Methodist pastor who fled his
country during its civil war.
The Rev. Charles Boayue, Jr., United Methodist Pastor from Liberia:
“When you enter Liberia, you see the physical destruction of
infrastructure. But that's not the only level of destruction. You have
emotional destruction, you have relationship destruction.”
Olivia Peace, 13-year-old Girl Scout: “It bothered me that the children were in the army. I think that people deserve a better education so they can be leaders when they grow up.”
The Girl Scouts are finding ways they can help.
Briana Ratchford, 13-year-old Girl Scout: “We have collected school supplies that we will send over to some of the schools that don't really have much of anything.”
Olivia Peace, 13-year-old Girl Scout: “We should do as much as we can to help them out, because everyone deserves to have a chance at doing something great with their lives.”
(Reading prayer) “This is unsigned from a teenager.
It says, ‘Lord, please send peace to
the earth. Please help my brothers and sisters to stop fighting and
start loving one another. Amen.’”
TAG:
Members of Hope United Methodist Church are planning a mission trip in January 2008 to learn more about Liberia, and hold classes on how people can be peacemakers.
For more on the Liberia Cultural Exchange Project,
contact the Girl Scouting ministry of
Hope United Methodist Church at
248-356-1020.