by KIM HILSENBECK
Stepping into the library at Blanco Vista Elementary School on Friday felt a bit like walking into a whole new world. Students dressed in traditional African garb, a replica of the Egyptian pyramids and many colorful displays transported visitors to countries such as Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Libya.
Over the past school year, the Blanco Vista Wildcat Ambassadors – selected because of their strong reading and excellent behavior – immersed themselves in African culture, learning a variety of information about the continent’s more than 50 countries. Their research included endangered animals, geography, weather, culture and how to speak African languages.
On Friday, the students presented their research, along with a display of artifacts and tchotchkes.
Librarian Kelly Posey, who led the effort, explained how the project took flight.
“We’re teaching our kids to be global citizens and we’re trying to teach them to give up their preconceived notions about the world,” Posey said.
“What started out as a book study became so much more,” she said. “Our year in Africa turned our students into global citizens and taught them much about perseverance and empathy. Studying Africa taught us that people all strive for the same basic things. The more we understand other cultures, the better we can work together to make the world a brighter place.”
Second-grader Krystal Cortez spoke about Libya, a country in northern Africa. Her display had photos of a man she said was “the emperor for 40 years.”
It was the country’s former and now deceased leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled the country for more than four decades.
Krystal explained some of what she researched, how she learned about speaking words in Arabic, the country’s Emperor scorpions and how people decorate their horses.
“They’re a very wealthy country. They’re very cultural, very colorful. And I think that they’re very good people. I like their language, too,” Krystal said.
She taught visitors to her booth words like asfar, which is the color yellow. Like all the other presenters at the conference, Krystal handed out little treats or trinkets representing their country to visitors.
Lauren Johnson, seven, shared what she learned about Mauritania, on the western edge of Africa.
“It’s a desert and it’s hot,” she said. “And they put tattoos on the palms of their hands.”
Fifth-grader Braxton Cheatham researched Nigeria. Though shy and quiet, he explained the country’s oil industry.
“They produce more than one-fifth of Africa’s oil and they are a rich country,” he said.
He said that money is used to help the villages and cities grow.
A group of pre-school students crowded around the display booth of Jaden Cannaday, 11, who excitedly explained what he learned about South Sudan.
“What’s really cool about South Sudan is it had the biggest wetlands in the world,” he said. “Wetlands are this little piece of land that has grass and trees and it has water, so you can find crocodiles there, fish and a lot of water animals. That is one of the cool things about Southern Sudan.”
His gregarious nature and presentation skills were evident.
He asked questions and tried to engage his young audience, who sat with paper bags patiently waiting for their gift, which he gave them.
He turned his attention to the Hays Free Press reporter.
“One of the things I think made South Sudan was the Lost Boys. In 1987, there was an order in upper north Sudan to kill all the males in the southern part of Sudan. So when southern Sudan heard about that, the boys were on a walk for their lives to Ethiopia. There were 27,000, I think, and when they walked it was dangerous. There were lions and they went through the desert.”
He said then the Ethiopian government collapsed – Communists overthrew the government in 1991 – so the Lost Boys walked back to southern Sudan and then on to Kenya.
“They had a camp called Kakuma on the border and that is where the Lost Boys are today,” Jaden said.
One of those Lost Boys, Dr. Isaac Gang, was the keynote speaker at the Pan African Conference. He shared with students his own incredible, first-hand story of survival.
Posey said the students held two fundraisers during the school year related to helping people in Africa. “Water Wednesday” was a five-week effort to raise funds for Water for South Sudan. More recently, Blanco Vista fourth graders sold bookmarks to aid Rwandan widows.
