Baltimore Highlands school

Students Raise Money For African Village

Baltimore Highlands Elementary School collected money to give an
African village clean running water.

BALTIMORE HIGHLANDS, Md. (WJZ) — The students at Baltimore Highlands Elementary School reached out to children in Uganda last year. They collected money to give an African village clean running water.

Ron Matz reports the school got a musical thank you Tuesday, and the students returned it with a very warm welcome.

It's a long way from Africa to Annapolis Road, but an Ugandan children's choir made the trip to say thank you to the students at Baltimore Highlands Elementary School.

Their H20 Project raised $2,500, so an African village could have clean water.

"When I heard about raising money for a well in Africa and for other countries around the world, I knew this would hit home with students and they would be able to understand the importance of water and getting the children safe and clean water to drink," said Katie Mahoney, third grade teacher.

"It's a good thing to do this for the kids in Uganda. It's a nice thing, and I know they would do it if we had this kind of problem, too," said Reggie Morton, 4th grader.

The students had dreams and smiles, despite being from broken homes.

"The members of the choir range from 7 to 12-years-old. They come from poor backgrounds and some come from single parent families whereby they cannot afford to take them to school. Some have lost their parents. They have no father and have no mother," said Stephen Sekitende, choir music director.

The fundraising is far from over. Students have already started collecting money for a village in Tanzania.

"We are raising money again to get a clean water source for a school in Tanzania. It would put in pipes and a well. One well can give clean water to 400 people for 20 years and all it takes is a couple thousand dollars," said Mahoney.

It was a teachable moment and much more for some Baltimore County students helping others thousands of miles away.

"This is our second tour of the United States. We do it to raise awareness and money, so we can educate our young children and give them a bright future," said Sekitende. "So we thank these children who have invested in the lives in Uganda, so we thank them very much."

The Ugandan Children's Choir performed in schools and churches in the Baltimore area through Dec. 20.

 

Reporting
Ron Matz