Students taking Action

 Dear AISL Community,

  The Gr 6-8 Community Connections Flex Time Team is organizing a clothing/recreational equipment drive for young migrant boys ages 14-18 starting March 20th and ending March 31st. These boys are from Ethiopia and were caught in transit on their way to South Africa looking for a better life. They are going through desperate times. Until recently, they were held in a prison, and are now staying in a correctional facility. There are currently 70+ kids in the Lusaka area. They are the ones who survived. Others have died along the way due to being smuggled in inhumane ways.
 
     UpZambia is a local NGO who provides legal representation to these migrant boys. UpZambia has contacted us for support in supplying these boys with the following items:
​

• Clothes: Pants, shirts, shorts, shoes, socks, underwear, as well as blankets, sweaters, and other warm things for the cold season coming up. (Make sure that these things are appropriate for boys, not girls, and for older kids too).
• Sports Equipment: Basketballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, or softballs. Please keep in mind that items the boys could use to harm themselves or others are not appropriate (e.g. jump ropes, hula hoop, racquets).
• Art Supplies: Pencils of any color, notepads, coloring books, pens, paper, paintbrushes, or watercolors would be great. 
• Personal Hygiene Products: Soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

     We are going to collect as many items as we can, but the minimum goal is 200 clothing items (around a couple of things for each boy), 20 sports items, and 20 art supplies. For the hygiene items, we need around 50 bars of soap, 50 toothpaste tubes, and around 90 toothbrushes.  
   
     Items can be donated any time of the day (while the school is open, of course), from March 20th to March 31st in designated boxes outside the Secondary Office. During the student-parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday, March 22nd, and Thursday, March 23rd, we will be available under the dome to answer any further questions. We count on the spirit and kindness of the AISL community to help these boys! 

Have a wonderful rest of your week, 

Community Connections Flex Time Team

---