The James Logan Courier

By Karen Mui, Courier Staff Writer
Photos by Karen Mui

Hope Connections is known for its charitable aid in the communities surrounding James Logan as well as in the tri‑city area. However, the club recently reached further heights, lending out its generosity to the needy halfway around the world in Eastern Africa.

After meeting to discuss various projects the club could have been involved in, they finally decided to partner with Global Partners for Development to assist a poor East African Village. The club contacted the organization and spoke with the CEO in hopes of determining the area most desperate for aid and donations. They finally settled on a rural area near Kenya, deciding the villages were in need of clean water and a school.

Using donations from the recycling event back in October, donations from students, staff members, and contributors from other community members, Linda Rodriguez and the Hope Connections club was able to supply the villages with what they needed.

“In rural East Africa, parents are aware that education is a way out of poverty, and they want good quality education for their children,” says Linda Rodriguez, both the club advisor and a Logan teacher. “(We) will be providing the materials to build one school room to help these children fulfill their dream of an education.”

In addition to the schoolhouse, the contributions will go towards purchasing enough materials to build 4 water‑pumps; enough to supply thousands of villagers with clean drinking water, something they have never been able to access until now.