Book Donation Project Aids Students In Sierra Leone
In October 2007, Elizabeth Radziszewski, a professor of political science and a RESPECT International volunteer, gave her students at Yeshiva University in New York City, United States, an unusual assignment that would require them to take what they were learning in the classroom out into the real world.
"I wanted to bring the class material to life by having the students go beyond just knowing about civil war, ethnicity or refugee causes. I wanted the students to raise awareness about such causes," says Elizabeth.
What started out as a project to raise awareness about refugee issues ended up as a project with global effects.
One of Elizabeth's students became interested in RESPECT and decided to put together a book drive to collect textbooks for refugee students in the West African country of Sierra Leone which has a turbulent and tumultuous past.
Between 1991 and 2001, an estimated 50,000 people were killed in Sierra Leone's civil wars and hundreds of thousands more were forced from their homes. By raising awareness of refugee issues and by collecting books, Elizabeth's students found a project with both abstract and tangible results.
The students put up posters and set up book donation bins in the dorms. They even collaborated with other campus human rights groups to strengthen the cause. In the end, the students collected more than 50 academic books on topics including business, education, and international relations.
Some of the books were even empowering and inspirational just to provide a little hope. Elizabeth knew this project was going to be more challenging than a traditional paper, but she didn't know of its effects.
"This project brought meaning to abstract theories the students were learning in class, all the while helping refugee students and RESPECT," she adds.