By Imani Carroll
York Suburban High School French students just wrapped up their books for orphan children in Haiti. The students spent weeks planning, writing, and illustrating their stories that will soon be in the hands of children in a Haitian orphanage.
CNN’s Lisa Cohen said at least 30,000 children live in orphanages in Haiti. However, only 80 percent of them were found to have at least one living parent. Many of them are living in orphanages because their parent(s) could not afford to take care of them. With this being said, it’s evident how something like a personal book can impact the lives of these young children.
The children range from ages 4-20, and each child will have a book personally made for him/her. Some students even include their assigned child as a character in their story.
The stories are usually silly, quirky, and fun for little kids. Sophomore Katie O’Neill’s story is about “a waffle, a dinosaur, and a whale crossing the sea of orange juice to try and find candy island.” This story would definitely appeal to the younger children she’s writing to.
Another student, Junior Elijah Tapp writes his story about “an old man named Boone and he [lived] in a cave in the woods… all the local children don’t really understand at first and they make fun of them.” The kids later find out that Boone takes care of stray animals “and they realize he’s a nice man.”
Madame Stark “[loved] to see [her] students [being] involved and creative” with the books. It was also a great opportunity for students to enhance their French writing skills. She plans to continue doing this project in the future years: “As long as the kids are willing and we have a place to send them, I will keep doing it.” She thinks the “books are going to be used for a good cause” and there is no reason to discontinue the tradition.