Tuesday, May 18, 2010



Project Restore recently visited a group of 3rd graders at WolfRidge Elementary, Bunker Hill, IL and discussed the many differences between the United States and Uganda, Africa cultures. Jan Miller and Catherine Keck spoke to the children and had hands-on activities for the children to understand the difficult struggles of the people in Uganda; from lack of clean water, starvation, to the need for a strong education and health care systems.

The third graders were currently reading the story Beatrice's Goat by Paige McBrier. This biographical tale is the story of a young girl in Uganda who longs to go to school but her family is too poor to send her. Beatrice's mother soon learns the family is to receive the gift of a goat from "some kindhearted people from far away". The family's future is changed and they are able to sell the goats milk, repair their hut's roof and send Beatrice to school.

The children were very engaged in the assembly and asked many intriguing questions about the life of an African student. After the presentation, the WolfRidge Elementary children felt motivated to help Project Restore in their hunger relief programs. The children held a coin collection rally and raised enough money to buy 2 goats for the Namulonge Senior Secondary School lunch program!

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hunger is the single greatest threat to the world's public health. The WHO also states that malnutrition is by far the biggest contributor to child mortality and currently affects more than one billion people, or 1 in 6 people on the planet. However in Namulonge, Project Restore’s feeding program has made significant inroads in eliminating hunger and malnutrition for the students at the Namulonge SS School with purchases of milk cows, pigs, and now two additional goats!

Thank you WolfRidge Elementary for your innate sense of empathy for the world around you! You are a true inspiration to us all and YOU are the ‘kindhearted people from far away’!

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