When a giant earthquake hit her native Turkey five years ago killing thousands, Melike Harfouche swung into action. She was only about to enter the eighth grade at Grover Middle School, but she just couldn’t stand by and do nothing when so many were suffering, so she organized a fundraiser to raise money for the victims. Harfouche discovered that she enjoyed helping others, while becoming involved not just in the West-Windsor Plainsboro community, but in the global community as well.
“”My favorite part was the adrenalin rush when you’re doing so many things at one time. You get to affect lots of people and have a direct impact on their lives,”” says Harfouche, who lives in the Walker Gordon development in Plainsboro and was born in Istanbul. She came to the United States with her parents when she was four years old. Her father, Negib, works for the State Department of Environmental Protection. Her mother, Nevin, works for PNC bank in Princeton. Her sister Melodi, 7, will be a second grader at Town Center Elementary in September.
It was in the middle of her sophomore year at High School South that Harfouche developed the idea to form a broader organization aimed at finding causes around the world that teenagers could become involved in. She launched a school club called Relieving Overseas Countries Conditions (ROCC). Their vision, as stated in their mission statement, is to “”provide an organization run by teenagers to ensure each young adult’s involvement within the global community. ROCC members will gain knowledgeable understanding of the poverty and deprivation faced by people every day around the world.””
The club’s most ambitious fundraiser to date is a soccer tournament to be held at West Windsor Community Park on Saturday, July 17. Open to children K-5, the event will feature teen coaches from the WWP Soccer Association’s program. They will run a fun-filled day of competition, food, and games. All the money raised will be donated to the Rotary Club of Princeton, which will in turn distribute the funds to Mnafu, a coastal community in South Africa that is suffering from the scourge of AIDS, the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa.
Harfouche says she found out about the needs in Mnafu through a Rotary Club database linking Rotary requests from around the world. ROCC chose a soccer tour
Harfouche says ROCC chose soccer as the focus of the event because the WWP Soccer Association attracts a lot of soccer players in the age group they wanted to target, and many kids in the area play soccer. ROCC, hoping to raise at least $1,”000, is asking for a $5 donation per person for the tournament, which will include a meal ticket for the day. The club is encouraging pre-registration the local libraries in order to help club members organize tournament players into teams before the event (see registration information below).
When Harfouche, who is going to Georgetown in the fall, started ROCC, she rounded up a group of friends who became the club’s founding members. They represent many different backgrounds: secretary Sophia Siddiqi, who is Indian, is going to NYU in the fall; vice president Christina Luzzi, who is Philipino/Italian, will enter Fordham University; treasurer Joanna Yang is Chinese and will attend Stanford; public relations officer Jane Shersher, who is Russian, graduated from the Moshe Aaron High School in South River after starting at High School South and is heading to Boston University.
The young women have collected toiletries and donated them to a home for disabled children in Nigeria. They have collected school supplies through the local libraries for the Red Cross School Chest program, which distributes them to needy children around the world. The club has sponsored a child in Argentina through Children International. Last October members organized story time at the Plainsboro Public Library around the theme of African culture and also incorporated arts, crafts, and games about African life.
“”Our dream is not only that our club will continue to grow, but that we’ll come back after college and see how it’s blossomed,”” says Shersher, “”It’s hard because everyone’s so busy, but it’s a project that comes from the heart, so we just have to make the time.””
Shersher says they could not have accomplished all they have without the support of their parents who believe in what they were trying to do. “”It’s been wonderful to give back to the community, to use our hands and our minds to put our wishes and goals into action to help people around the world. It helps us to understand different people and to appreciate what we have. It’s been worth every minute.””
-Euna Kwon
Soccer Benefit Tournament, West Windsor Community Park, Saturday, July 17, 9 a.m. Donation: $5. Call 609-275-8345 or E-mail : roccnonprofit@yahoo.com. You can obtain a registration form at the information desks at the entrance of the West Windsor and Plainsboro libraries or visit www.freewebs.com/rocc and print out a form, which you can drop off in the big, colorful boxes at the libraries or mail to: ROCC Nonprofit, 39 Hawthorn Drive, Plainsboro 08536.
