Students at TH Rogers have been painting tents that will be sent to refugee camps in Darfur or Chad. On the way, the tents will be displayed on the national mall in Washington, D.C.
The tents are from the Tents of Hope organization. Every student at Rogers has placed his or her thumbprint on a tent to have a part in the project, which is sponsored by the National Junior Honor Society and the Student Council at Rogers.
Students will be painting the tents at Rogers, 5840 San Felipe, from 2:20-3 p.m. Oct. 23, and Regional Superintendent Barbara Thornhill will join the students’ global awareness project and add her thumbprint to a tent between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The canvas tents will be sent to Washington D.C. to be displayed in the National Mall Nov. 9-11. The school aims to have the tents completed by Oct. 24, so they can be shipped to Washington with plenty of time. On Nov. 9, the tents will be placed in bins and then be shipped to Darfur or Chad to be used in refugee camps. The school’s student presidents of the National Junior Honor Society and Student Council will go to Washington, D.C., to represent Rogers and participate in the events of Nov. 7-9.
Rogers history teacher Janie McPhail and Student Council Sponsor April Britto will accompany the students to Washington. The students will film the Washington events to add to a documentary about the project being produced by the school’s media class. The students will place the tents in bins in Washington on November 9 for shipment to a refugee camp in Darfur or Chad.
McPhail heard about the Tents of Hope project last spring, and as the NJHS sponsor, asked if the school could get involved. McPhail teaches a Model UN elective, and the Model UN students have researched and prepared short age-appropriate lessons for the other students about what it means to be a refugee and about what is going on in Darfur.
“The students have learned that we are part of a global community, and even though what we are doing is small, the tent will make a big difference in the life of those who receive it,” said McPhail. “Everyone can make the world a better place if they just put words into actions.”
NillsonDan15 says
Great job done by these students! We would like to profile their work on http://www.nuresume.com which is the first Student Resume Network for students. These students would then have this achievement on their online resume portfolio.
snorman says
It would be nice if there was a follow-up story with pictures on how the Washington event ran on November 7-9. You don’t have to go to Darfur to see examples of people in need for shelter. How many thousands are hoping for a FEMA structure to live in following Hurricaine Ike in Galveston?