By Lindsey Iorg
Even though Brigham Dallas is just a 17-year-old senior in high school, he knows 6 million children die each year from hunger-related causes in developing countries. He also knows in Uganda, 44 percent of the nation?s inhabitants live in poverty. In Somalia, the national literacy rate is under 38 percent.
Those numbers inspired Dallas to start A?s for Africa, a national student-run organization that builds vocational schools in Africa so Africans can master a trade. He thinks learning a vocation, like carpentry or irrigation, will help Africans eliminate poverty and improve communities.
?Many [people] in Africa are living worse than other people in the world,? said Dallas, A?s for Africa national president from Fort Mill, S.C ., ?The way to change these conditions is to give these people an education.?
The organization hopes to raise $1 million by summer 2005 to construct the first 15 schools, relying largely on the efforts of the Utah team, one of the non-profit?s main contributors.
While A?s for Africa is widely known among the Utah high school scene, it is just beginning to gain popularity among universities like BYU.
Kristen Daniels, 20, a senior from Tokyo, Japan, majoring in sociology, said she is in the process of forming a chapter of A?s for Africa at BYU.
Daniels, who just returned from Guatemala volunteering in orphanages and rural communities, said BYU is an ideal setting for the organization.
?BYU is a perfect place to start a club like this because people seem really eager to serve,? Daniels said.
Africa is one of the poorest areas in the world, and consequently, needs the most help, she said.
?I believe that one of the best ways to get out of poverty is through education,? Daniels said. ?Organizing this club and raising this money provides an education.? .
Sheldon Wardwell, 17, a high school senior from Smithfield, is the A?s for Africa president for the Utah chapter. Wardwell said the state organization is optimistic about reaching their national $1 million goal after receiving donations from Youth Venture, a program that promotes student-led organizations, and by participating in parades and speaking engagements throughout the country.
Wardwell?s future fund-raising plans are a dance at BYU during winter semester and spring fundraiser at The Gateway shopping district in Salt Lake City.
While the money raised from these fundraisers will initially help construct vocational schools, Wardwell said the real investment rests in teaching trades that will help Africans contribute to their communities.
?Our long-term goal is not just to build schools,? Wardwell said. ?What we?re actually aiming for is to make a positive difference in the African communities most in need.?
Jeff Staheli, a 17-year-old high school senior also from Smithfield, is recruitment chair for the Utah chapter. He said when the organization initially began there were many skeptics.
?People didn?t think an organization run by high school and college students would succeed,? Staheli said. ?But now that the organization is up and running, these people are wanting to be involved.?
If A?s for Africa succeeds, other countries will benefit from Dallas and Wardwell?s commtiment to end poverty.
?Once we can prove that our schools are actually helping in African communities, we will start A?s for Asia and A?s for South America,? Wardwell said.
For Wardwell, creating an environment of learning for uneducated people also brings improvement into his own life.
?We?re going to change lives for the kids and families there,? Wardwell said. ?When you give value to other people?s lives, you add value to your own.?
