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Press Releases:
Upper Keys Youth Experience ‘Life as a Refugee’
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (365 words) - Today, more than 30 million people around the world have been displaced due to war and violence. Of that number, nearly 10 million refugees are children. Last week the mentor program offered through Monroe Youth Challenge Program made it possible for 31 youth to attend the “Torn from Home: My Life as a Refugee” Exhibit in Miami.
The students were mentors from Cheryl Cooke’s Leadership Class at Coral Shores and mentees from the middle school at Treasure Village Montessori escorted by Julie Clark.
MYCP mentor program participants test out the shelter they built at the “Torn from Home” Exhibit.
At the exhibit they went through a hands-on journey into the lives of children who are forced to flee their homes and seek safety in a new land. They explored what it means to be a refugee to better understand their hardships and hope for a brighter future.
Isis Majeska, a 7th-grade student at TVM, said, “The feeling I had when we left the exhibit was grateful because I saw some of the things we take for granted are the things the refugees want so badly.”
The purpose of the trip was to give the mentor-mentee pairs more time to get to know each other better as well as have discussion around the poignant issues of the humanitarian needs of refugees.
Mentee Christian Owens who is in the 8th-grade at TVM said, “My mentor and I teach each other stuff a lot. He listens and gives feedback on stuff that is going on in my life. I learned a lot about my mentor and he learned a lot from me.”
MYCP District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter, who arranged and attended the field trip, said, “The kids were enthusiastic and interested in the exhibit and excited to get to know each other. It was satisfying to watch the kids have fun.”
Both the high school and middle school students have follow-up lessons planned as extension activities of the exhibit.
Monroe Youth Challenge Program is a project of the Monroe County Education Foundation to build Developmental Assets® and create opportunities so every child in Monroe County can feel safe, loved, and celebrated. For more information call MYCP Director Sunny Booker at (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319 or visit http://mycp.keysschools.com/.
