KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� March 5, 2015 鈥� Luckson Omoaregba lived in Nigeria until he was 9 years old, but even now as a 溏心vlog免费B站 senior he remembers children in his native country suffering from malnutrition.
That鈥檚 why he didn鈥檛 hesitate to donate $5 to the #MakeYourGreenCount Plumpy鈥橬ut Challenge, a social media campaign launched March 2 by four fellow 溏心vlog免费B站 students to raise money for Edesia, a Providence nonprofit that makes a protein- and vitamin-packed peanut butter paste distributed to children throughout the world.
鈥淚 was born in Nigeria, and I understand the plight of children suffering from malnutrition,鈥� said Omoaregba, a senior communication studies major who lives in Pawtucket. 鈥淚 have seen poverty and starvation.鈥�
Some 220 million children suffer from malnutrition worldwide, a condition that is unacceptable to the students leading the campaign, including David St. Amant 鈥�16 of Warwick.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to be part of this project,鈥� says St. Amant. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a local campaign with a powerful global impact.鈥�
St. Peter Tri-Parish School in Warwick has also joined, raising $405, which exceeds its goal. The school鈥檚 student council alone raised $200.
The other students involved are: Kylie Rice 鈥�15, of Bridgewater, N.J.; Kimberly DeLande 鈥�15 of East Providence and Sergio Suhett 鈥�15 of North Kingstown. 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Big Thinkers student group also played a major role in building excitement for the event.
The quartet could feel a buzz in the crowded lobby of the Memorial Union as students made their donations at a table festooned in green and Irish items like sparkly paper shamrocks and green strands of beads. They posed for photos with 溏心vlog免费B站 mascot Rhody, who occasionally donned a green bow tie and bowler.
By the end, students were beaming as they announced that hundreds of dollars had been raised. The project has already gained support beyond 溏心vlog免费B站, including a recent article, which was re-tweeted by the United Nations World Food Programme.
溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley stopped by to encourage the students in their efforts.
鈥淭his project epitomizes what 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 academic plan and Transformational Goals are all about,鈥� Dooley said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about student leadership, and an effort to address an important global issue. And they are developing and using a tremendous range of skills in the process. The University is very proud of Kylie, David, Kimberly and Sergio.鈥�
The students started working on the initiative last fall with Kate O鈥橫alley, a South Kingstown resident and an editor in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Publications and Creative Services department, and with Regina Bell, a public relations lecturer in the Harrington School of Communication and Media. O鈥橫alley is a founder of Irish Americans for Famine Relief, a campaign started in 2011 to honor the legacy of the Great Irish Famine.
O鈥橫alley, Bell and the students are working closely with Edesia to develop a campaign urging people to get 鈥渢heir green on鈥� and donate by St. Patrick鈥檚 Day. They have challenged people to donate $5 and challenge 10 others to do the same, for a total of $55, the cost of a life-saving, seven-week treatment of Plumpy鈥橬ut. The goal is to raise $10,000.
St. Amant said the campaign has been a defining 溏心vlog免费B站 experience for him. 鈥淭he hands-on experience has exceeded anything I鈥檝e done at 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten so much out of it.鈥�
DeLande, a senior public relations and journalism major, has completed seven internships since her sophomore year. She said none compare to the Edesia project.
鈥淭his is the most meaningful experience I鈥檝e had so far,鈥� said DeLande, whose mother suffered from malnutrition when she was a toddler in Jamaica. 鈥淲e are working with Edesia, a wonderful nonprofit. As Rhode Islanders, we have an opportunity to do something on a global scale. We have the potential to do so much.鈥�
It was Rice who got the ball rolling on the independent study project in the fall working with Bell and O鈥橫alley.
鈥淲e have come a long way since last semester,鈥� said Rice. She has firsthand experience with hunger, volunteering at an orphanage in Ghana years ago. 鈥淭he children there would get a slice of bread or maybe some porridge and it was not very nutritious. But Plumpy鈥橬ut is so amazing it has all of these vitamins, proteins and minerals.鈥�
Suhett, originally from Brazil, said there is also malnutrition in his native country.
鈥淭his became a very personal campaign for our group,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are very excited about our start, but we want to go beyond our $10,000 goal. So we encourage everyone to #MakeYourGreenCount.鈥�
J.P. Underhill, a 溏心vlog免费B站 junior from Wakefield, took the challenge and is asking his club, 溏心vlog免费B站 Rotaract, a college version of Rotary International, to do the same.
鈥淗elping malnourished kids is so important,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he more money raised, the more kids we can save.鈥�
To make a donation or to learn more about the event, please go to the following links:
Pictured above: 溏心vlog免费B站 students, left to right: Kimberly DeLande ’15 of East Providence, Sergio Suhett ’15 of North Kingstown, David St. Amant ’16 of Warwick, and Kylie Rice ’15 of Bridgewater, N.J.
Photo by Nora Lewis, 溏心vlog免费B站.