I cried in front of an auditorium full of people last week. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it was a moment in my life where I was touched and overwhelmed by the generosity of others.
A few weeks ago, I had the oppurtunity to speak to the Human Right’s class at Windsor High School. When I met these 16- and 17-year-olds, they told me about a program they had been organizing all year long: An event in hopes to raise public awareness about genocide taking place in Darfur right now. I was moved by the compassion of these young people and their willingness to stand up and do something for people halfway around the world.
I had the honor of emceeing their event on Thursday.
Throughout the evening, students read their own poems to serve as inspirational and motivational calls to action. We watched a heart-wrenching film about the injustices going on in Darfur, produced, created and directed, by 17-year-old student Peter Carpenter. The Windsor High School Gospel Choir performed, forcing hundreds of people on their feet for a well-deserved standing ovation. The class and their teacher, Alan Strauss, managed to get amazing speakers like radio show host Deacon Arthur Miller as well as survivors of genocide from Southern Sudan and Rwanda to speak.
I heard one inspiring speech after another, but one of the many instances that touched me came at the end of the night. Out of nowhere, the human rights class presented me with school bags filled with crayons, construction paper, pencils, erasers and markers to send to girls in Pakistan who are not able to afford these simple luxuries that we take for granted — The girls who strive to get an education but don’t have the basic tools or money. I thought of the smiles these teenagers are bring to the girls in Pakistan and I couldnt help but cry.
I learned a huge lesson that night from these young people — a lesson it takes many of us a lifetime to comprehend — that you alone can make a difference, that you alone can change the world. All you have to do is care!
Dear Hena,your post on darfur fundraiser of last yr. Is great u can cry if story moves u isn’t that what makes a good reporter. We are thankful for living here.