By LATRICIA NELL
latricia@newsroom.byu.edu
For the last week, technology education students have been participating in an educational service project to help school children in Cairo, Egypt.
The Technology Education Department and the Technology Education Collegiate Association, TECA, have created hand-held slate boards for school children.
'The project has been worth the time and effort to make slate boards because it's hard at BYU to find service projects to help people far away,' said Paul Reynolds, a junior from Midvale, Salt Lake County, majoring in technology education and a participant in the service project.
Reynolds said participating in the project helped him remember serving children is part of the true meaning of Christmas.
He said he enjoyed helping children who are less fortunate by building slate boards.
Reynolds said it took several weeks to create the slate boards in mass quantity.
'After painting the slate board with blackboard paint, you have to wait at least 12 hours for it to dry before applying another coat,' he said.
The project took shape after Roseanne Gunther from American Fork asked the Technology Education Department at BYU to help her in a humanitarian aide effort for Cairo's school children, said Steve Shumway, professor of technology education.
Shumway said Gunther chose BYU instead of a youth group or service organization because the department has the ability to cut the slate boards in mass quantity in a short period of time.
He said the department was happy to contribute to the further development of a third world country.
'To the kids over there, slate boards are major. They don't have many other options,' Shumway said.
He said many people do not realize Egypt is poor and needs help from wealthier countries.
The project is part of a larger humanitarian effort to help create education kits for school children in Cairo, Egypt.
Roseanne Gunther, the developer of the project, has been a financial contributor to many humanitarian projects, Shumway said.
Gunther said she likes to help people in need at Christmas time and throughout the year.
She said helping third world countries with education helps that country to help itself.