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Helping Kids Who’ve Survived Civil War
"I spent my summer as an intern with the Center for Multicultural Human
Services."
By Laura Stanley
"Sierra Leone? Isn't that a mountain range? Oh, it isn't?
It's an African country torn apart by war? I didn't know that."
That's a typical response I receive when I answer the question, "What did
you do this summer?" I spent my summer as an intern with the Center for
Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, Virginia. I worked with seven
to eleven-year-olds who suffered through the civil war that has torn apart their
homeland, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. They suffer from emotional and mental
problems as a result of witnessing the horrors of war.
Working with kids is really rewarding to me. I feel so elated when I see the
small breakthroughs they make- becoming able to verbalize their feelings, cooperate
with someone or recount their experiences of the war.
I also learned not to take my freckles for granted. I'm white and my freckles
fascinated some of the children. They had never seen freckles.
I admit most college students don't spend the summer doing this kind of work.
But they'd be lucky if they could because they would learn that the world is
much bigger than their high school, college or job. And they'd learn that often
we help ourselves by helping others. I call it the paradox of giving.
Laura Stanley is a senior at the University of Virginia. She participated in
the Community Summer Jobs Program.
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