Orion School of Redwood City, CA readied their sneakers, put on their handmade beaded necklaces and began walking. This was the third walk-a-thon Orion School has held to raise money for children in East Africa since 2009.
You might remember Orion School as the recipient of Asante Africa Foundation’s first Power of We award recognizing their amazing efforts last year when they raised $3000 for desks. This April they proved once again to live up to their recognition and well beyond that when they raised $4000 for school uniforms!
A small school of only 260 students, Orion proves that change need not only be power in numbers, but power in determination, vision and action. A motivating factor in these students is knowing that their efforts and dollars are making a difference. How? They’ve seen it! In a notebook shared and exchanged across the continents filled with pictures and letters. They’ve seen the difference they’re making in the faces of the students they’re helping. They’ve seen the desks they raised money for last year lift children off the dirt floor. They’ve seen the whiteboards they donated utilized by teachers to effectively promote learning.
These tangible results have nurtured a connection that’s inspired Orion students to walk faster and become better global citizens. They have learned more each year about Africa and its rich culture as they continue to gain awareness of what it means to help make a positive change in the lives of their peers on the other side of the world. More importantly, they’ve learned that they are not much different than the children in East Africa.
Asante Sana, to Orion School! The students and faculty at Orion School are inspirational ambassadors of change in the global community.
To learn more about how you and your school can help visit www.asanteafrica.org