Vista Ridge High School junior Racquel Valadez said she is deeply affected by the plight of Ugandan children.”They had to run away every night so they didn’t get kidnapped to become child soldiers,” she said. “They lived in fear every day. It’s so horrible and hardly anyone knows about it.”To raise awareness and send aid to Uganda, Valadez took action. She registered VRHS with Schools for Schools, a program within Invisible Children, a nonprofit organization inspiring young people to help promote lasting peace in Northern Uganda. Valadez said she contacted Odyssey Elementary, which also got involved. Valadez made posters and flyers encouraging students to make cash donations. She raised $160 in two weeks.Natalie Reppa, Schools for Schools spokeswoman, said the money raised for the program funds 11 partner schools in Uganda. In addition to funding 780 scholarships, Schools for Schools funds capital projects and the schools’ operating costs.”Our staff in Uganda works specifically with each school and its directors … to identify its particular needs,” Reppa said. “Projects are planned and organized based on immediate need, and then each 100-day round of Schools for Schools will fund more and more of the projects.”Valadez’s partner school in Uganda, Gulu High School, had enough funding from the last round to build a girls’ dormitory. This round, Reppa said Schools for Schools raised $730,000 by the Dec. 17 deadline, with more still coming in. “We are confident this round will produce over $1 million,” she said.The immediate threat from the Lord’s Resistance Army, the main perpetrator of abducting children to train as soldiers, has subsided, Reppa said. “However, many of these students have known nothing but war or are actually former child soldiers. Rebuilding our schools gives these people a chance to break out of the cycle of violence,” she said. “By providing our students with the education they need, we are giving them a chance at a sustainable livelihood and the chance to step up and be leaders of their communities.” Valadez plans to raise funds again next year; and, with more time, she said she will get other schools in the district involved to raise more cash. In addition to her fundraising efforts, she is the sports editor for the yearbook and involved with the National Honor Society and Habitat for Humanity. She also runs cross country.Valadez was encouraged by her Student Opportunities for Academic Richness coordinator, Julie Davis. Davis said SOAR, Falcon District 49’s gifted and talented program, helps students set goals and develop passions to build leadership skills.Davis said once Valadez identified her passion to help Ugandan children “she just took it and flew.”For more information about Schools for Schools and Invisible Children, visit www.invisiblechildren.com.
