Why #HelpOneClassroom? Because my kids here are no more deserving of education than kids there.
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I was a fresh-faced and somewhat naive 20 year old when I arrived as a teacher on the Tex/Mex border, with my Mazda laden with high expectations, school supplies, and Payless shoes.
In Starr County, though, teachers were paid. In Haiti, that's not usually the case. Perhaps that's part of the reason why roughly 50% of adults are illiterate and classrooms lack basic resources. (I bought a lot of supplies for my students out of my own income, but that wouldn't have been possible if I didn't receive a paycheck!)
In Starr County, kids received a free education. In Uganda, fees are required, fees that many families can't afford. That's why 75% of kids drop out, nevermind that those who stay are taught in classrooms with a pupil to teacher ratio of 48 to 1.
Two of my children were born here in Raleigh, one was born in Taitung City in Taiwan, and the three-to-come (soon, we hope) were born in Uganda. Despite being born in three different places and cultures and first families, all six of my darlings dream. All six hope. All six can learn.
My school was on an old Mexican-American War fort, literally bordering the Rio Grande River. While the name Starr County sounds flashy, it was - at that time - the poorest county in the United States.
I took this picture from my front yard. The tree line was the river, the physical border between our countries. The sign, though - "Dead End Street" - described the reality for many students there, students whose educational opportunities were often limited by the place where they were born.
In Starr County, though, teachers were paid. In Haiti, that's not usually the case. Perhaps that's part of the reason why roughly 50% of adults are illiterate and classrooms lack basic resources. (I bought a lot of supplies for my students out of my own income, but that wouldn't have been possible if I didn't receive a paycheck!)
In Starr County, kids received a free education. In Uganda, fees are required, fees that many families can't afford. That's why 75% of kids drop out, nevermind that those who stay are taught in classrooms with a pupil to teacher ratio of 48 to 1.
Two of my children were born here in Raleigh, one was born in Taitung City in Taiwan, and the three-to-come (soon, we hope) were born in Uganda. Despite being born in three different places and cultures and first families, all six of my darlings dream. All six hope. All six can learn.
I've talked with the folks leading up Help One Now. They're legit. I wouldn't be writing this and offering myself up as an ambassador for #HelpOneClassroom otherwise.
Chris and Nick and the rest of their team agree with me that education can be a game-changer for many of these kids, just as it was for my kids in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. When we all consider what doing justice for orphans looks like in Haiti and Uganda (as well as many other places), education is part of the equation.
So what is #HelpOneClassroom? Great question. It's a campaign to sponsor 25 teachers in Haiti and Uganda for the upcoming school year, with a goal of $62,000 - that's just $2500 per teacher for an entire year - by October 1. In Haiti, these teachers will be in a brand-new school, built by Help One Now to replace the post-earthquake tent school that was there. Truly, #HelpOneClassroom was born out of a desire to equip the teachers who will educate the 400 children ready to learn there.
As you know, we're adopting three siblings from Uganda, orphaned by AIDS. We love them, and if circumstances had been different and allowed them to grow up in their first family, we would have still wanted them to have the opportunity to go to school, whether or not they posed with chalkboards marking each year's grade. Why?
Because my kids in the US are no better or more deserving of education than kids in Uganda or Haiti. Kids here and there were all born into a world in which the effects of sin are apparent in heartbreaking ways, including in kids here having access to excellent education while kids there don't.
It doesn't have to be that way, though.
If you agree, would you consider joining with Help One Now in their goal to sponsor 25 teachers in Haiti and Uganda? Learn more - or donate - at www.helponenow.org/helponeclassroom.
I might not be a fresh-faced and naive 20 year old at the start of her teaching career, but I'm still passionate about education. And now, as a mom, it matters even more to me as it did then.