Young people making a difference: Students Help Those In Need

At times some of us here at DU have questioned the commitment and compassion of today's youth, so I thought I'd start off this day on a positive note about seven young girls of privilege who are striving to make a difference in the lives of others.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/NEWS01/604060341

Students help those in need
Providing a daily meal, and hope, for children in a poor village in South Africa
BY STEVE KEMME | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

MADEIRA - An impoverished South African village wracked by AIDS is a far cry in both culture and comfort from the world of Maya Amoils and her high school friends.

People in Langkloof, a Zulu village located in a fertile valley between two mountain ranges, live in one-room houses made of dried mud, thatched roofs and dirt floors.

The AIDS virus has ravaged this village of 3,000 black residents, causing one out of every four children to be orphaned. Food and jobs are scarce. There is limited electricity and running water and no sewers.

Maya and her friends live in nice, spacious homes in the Cincinnati area, enjoy three full meals a day and attend a premier private school, Cincinnati Country Day in Indian Hill.

Yet the girls have reached beyond their lives of affluence and privilege to help that little village halfway around the world.

In the past two years, Maya and six friends, all high school sophomores, have raised more than $150,000 for Langkloof.

The girls' fund-raising efforts so far have provided one substantial meal a day for 350 Langkloof children, a new playground, and a remodeled day-care center and school....

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(There is also info at link where you can learn more about H.O.P.E. and make donations.)

There will always be a certain percentage of slackers in any generation. I was a child of the "love generation" and believe me, we had (have) our quota of slackers (myself among them for a time).
There were thousands of College Students who gave up their spring break this year to head down to the Gulf States rebuilding effort. I think the younger generation is going to be just fine and hopefully they'll be more discriminate when it comes to war, social programs and such.

We just don't hear enough of these types of positive stories, so I thought I'd post something to recognize just a few of the young folks who are working to make this a better world.

As far as youth involvement in war-related issues and social programs are concerned, I think in today's world it's easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. I know I do.

great story - and what a huge effort ... they have raised more than 150,000 to send on. Wow!