Children Acting Responsibly Everyday (CARE) Kids Reilly Cahill, Megan Simpson, John Gunton and Claudine Buffet-Mogel teach their younger schoolmates about the location and climate of Kenya; they also demonstrate how Kenyan children make their own soccer balls out of plastic bags, string and tape.
“Children helping children” is the theme of Lawrenceville Elementary School’s service learning project in support of Operation Smile’s trip to Mombasa, Kenya in October.
Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s charity organization that treats facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates.
During the Mombasa trip, about 500 children and young adults will wait to be screened by the surgical staff to determine if they are eligible for reconstructive surgery and related health care. The Operation Smile volunteers will be assisting with clerical responsibilities in Kenya by distributing more than 500 patient tags created and decorated by LES students to display the numbers assigned to each child waiting.
Families of LES students also donated items to support the trip, including toothbrushes, click pens, bibs and gently-used t-shirts for the patients to wear after surgery. Soccer balls and equipment were also donated for distribution to local Kenyan schools.
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