The ten-week pilot program with the Cannon Falls sixth graders has officially ended and it was nothing short of a huge
Bake sale!
success. Through the ten-part curriculum covering everything from education, economics, family life, sports/recreation, belief systems, communication, food, art, government, geography and more, the Minnesota 12-year olds have now gained a greater understanding of life in Afghanistan. They are also able to articulate how the high illiteracy rate there links to poverty, how poverty links to vulnerability, how vulnerability links to the instability of a nation…and how unstable nations are prime targets for terrorist groups to infiltrate.
As a student-led solution, the kids organized their own individual and group fundraisers including bake sales, yard work, babysitting, holding carnivals and more. Afterwards they donated the proceeds to purchase much-needed school supplies for their Afghan friends. “They understand how supporting education can help lead to peace,” says Dina Fesler.
“Because of their new-found understanding of the issues that Afghans face, in one week the students raised $1,200, which will help a lot of children in Afghanistan attend school. More importantly, our kids no longer see themselves on the sidelines. They realize that although they are quite young, they still have the power to impact the world. That’s what our work at CCC is all about.”