wfn.org | Teens transformed by five-week African service learning project

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mary Dykstra, CRWRC Service Learning Coordinator, 616-241-1691 ext 4162
Beth DeGraff, CRWRC Media Contact, 616-648-7821 or 1-800-55-CRWRC

Teens transformed by five-week African service learning project

SEPTEMBER 4, 2009?Twelve teenagers lived their faith to the fullest
during five weeks of service and learning in Mozambique, Rwanda, and
Malawi this past summer. Selected for the Christian Reformed World
Relief Committee (CRWRC) Youth To Youth program, the teens from
Canada, United States, and Uganda lived and breathed the program?s
goals, ?to love mercy by building relationships, act justly by
serving, and walk humbly through fellowship.?

Because the team was made up of Ugandans as well as North Americans,
the teens truly benefited from a cross-cultural learning experience.
?I learned a lot from the Ugandan youth and I feel privileged to have
served alongside them,? said a 16-year-old participant from Dundas,
Ontario, Canada. ?Although there was some minor cultural tension,
overall the team functioned amazingly well together and our
differences were overcome through perseverance and grace with each
other.?

After a full year of preparation that included study, journaling, fund
raising, and spending time with mentors, the youth began with a
three-day orientation in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. While
in Malawi and Mozambique, they worked alongside Save Orphans
Ministries and Nkhoma Relief and Development staff in young child
clinics, on farms, in youth groups, on an orphan care center?s maize
garden, and in adult literacy classes.

A two-day side trip to Kilgali, Rwanda, brought the youth face to face
with the horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. They visited two
churches where 15,000 Rwandans had been massacred. The victims? bones,
clothing, and even blood stains remain as a powerful witness to the
horrible attack. In her blog entry for the day, group leader Bekah
Schipper wrote, ?I can't describe everything that I saw in that
sanctuary, but hanging on a coffin in the front of the sanctuary was a
banner that stated, ?If you knew me and you knew who you are, you
would not have killed me.??

The teens wrapped up their adventure with a safari and debriefing at
Okapi Gardens, outside of Kampala, Uganda.

Members of the press wishing to arrange an interview with Youth to
Youth Program participants can call Beth DeGraff at cell 616-648-7821.
Blogs, photos and stories about the Youth to Youth tour are available
online at www.crwrc.org/news.cfm?detailid=3556&newsid=1497.

CRWRC is a Christian non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed
Church in North America that has ministered in development, relief,
and justice education with people in need around the world since 1962.

> -- Beth DeGraff
> CRWRC Media and Justice Contact
> 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE
> Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0600
> 1-800-55-CRWRC
> www.crwrc.org

Note that my email address has changed to bdegraff@crwrc.org.

CRWRC is a registered non-profit agency of the CRC-NA in both the U.S.
and Canada.