To The Students At Mt. View
Saturday, February 16, 2008
I just received word that students at Mt. View school, my home-town middle school, raised $2,000 at a Valentine’s Day dance. This is beyond HUGE for us and it means even more to have my own middle school supporting me.
I spoke to Mt. View school in an assembly just a few weeks before I left for Nepal. I was actually really nervous before the assembly. It was the day before winter break and the whole school was pumped up for the big volleyball game between the 8th graders. I remember that day from my own middle school years very well. I was so amazed by how attentive the students were, how much they connected with my story and really listened to what I had to say. After the assembly, so many kids came up to me and even e-mailed me later in the week asking how they could help, and sharing their ideas about how to make this world a better place for us all to live in, especially starting in our own community.
Sometimes it's easy to lose hope over here. You help one child one day, and the next day 30 more come along in just as bad condition. You have to pick and choose your battles. You learn to distinguish between the poor and the desperate, the hungry and the starving. It's easy to feel alone afraid and insecure about the world sometimes. When I heard the news about Mt. View doing this for me I felt like I wasn't alone at all! I thought, “Wow, there are kids halfway around the world who love and care about the kids I'm working with and who want to make this happen.”
I want to say thank you to everyone who attended the event and especially to the kids who organized the dance and did the work to make it happen. The students of Mountain View turned a social event, a dance, a night of fun into something that will change children's lives forever over here. Thank you for supporting us!