Welcome (Last revised 5/26/2010)
BRIDGES is a student organization dedicated to forging connections among students at IHA in Bergen County, New Jersey, andpopulations in “underserved” communities around the world.
The mission of this group is to learn more about – and to bring attention to – the issues and challenges facing individuals in other regions of the world. In the process of promoting global awareness, BRIDGES will seek to identify specific communities with which we can interact in order to support improvements in their quality of life.
Our plan for 2009 – 2010:
To plan an after-school event each quarter spotlighting a situation/issue or cause that threatens the well-being of populations beyond our borders. Because we are a “girls” high school, we will particularly target the needs of women and children.
To plan activities/bulletin alerts throughout the year that highlight global happenings.
To plan a spring assembly or other school-wide event to spread awareness of a particular challenge to the well-being of others outside of the U.S.
OUR CAPSTONE PROJECT: Pending logistical and financial considerations, a small group of active BRIDGES members will travel to the Moshi/Arusha area of Tanzania in July/August 2010 to experience first-hand the daily lives of specific communities. While there, they will provide support and become more culturally well-informed advocates for these populations.
If you consider yourself a global citizen who want to make a difference in the world, join BRIDGES. You’ll meet inspiring people, learn about the world outside our borders and experience the satisfaction of serving others. BE A BRIDGE, BUILD A BRIDGE.
“All
lives have equal value” –
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Our final event!
The Faces of Motherhood: A Global View
Thanks to all the students who helped to put together the lobby exhibit on mothers and their stories worldwide. All of you did a good job research and choosing photos that represented the challenges facing women in developing nations.
Our third event:
Congratulations to Antonelle, Kat, Colleen and Melissa on the successful assembly "Be Your Sister's Voice"
Learn about the Challenges to women today:
Education Maternal care Violence Microfinance
Guest speaker: Katie Weyler
Find out what one young woman is doing!
Our second event:
Conquering the Scourge of Fistula
Tuesday, Feb 8 at 2:10 in the info-commons
View the compelling documentary
A Walk to Beautiful
Add your voice to those calling for a new life for women in impoverished societies
For more information & to get involved:
www.fistulafoundation.org/
www.endfistula.org/
http://www.fistulatrust.org/
Our First Event
Kidnapped to Kill:
The Untold Story of Child Soldiers
Imagine your country suffering 23 years of war. Now imagine your little brothers and even sisters fighting in that war. This exact scenario is happening in Northern Uganda as we attend IHA. Joseph Koney, leader of a rebel army, kidnaps young boys (and girls) in their sleep and makes them kill even their own families fight in his war. His army, the Lord’s Resistance Army or the LRA, has kidnapped over 30,000 children so far. While children are forced into armies on many continents, this situation is particularly deadly. Estimates are that:
1 in 3 boys have been abducted and forced to be child soldiers.
1 in 6 girls have been abducted and forced to be sex slaves.
90 % of the LRA is made up of abducted children.
Over 2 million people have been forced into displacement camps because of the rebel war.
On Christmas Day, 2008, the LRA killed over 600 and abducted 160 children.
Learn more about the tragedy of child soldiers and how you can join the human chorus calling for its end. Come to our multi-media presentation on Monday, December 14th .
To learn more and to become involved in this issue:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ACIO-7Y4JL5?OpenDocument
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-child-soldiers?Open
http://www.unicef.org/emerg/files/childsoldiers.pdf