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Reed
Williams, Librarian - Shady Side Academy, Pittsburgh
Several teachers at the Middle School and many students said yours
was the best assembly they've ever attended. One student said meeting
Benjamin made it the best day of his life. The Senior School response
was the same. Some classes couldn't hold their regular class after
the students had visited with Benjamin because that's all they wanted
to talk about. Michele said her last period class asked her to just
recap everything you both had said during the previous
class. Anyway, a moving experience for our whole community. I know
our students will follow up with action regarding current horrors
in Sudan.
Jennifer
Vroom, Teacher, Campbell Hall
It was amazing! We had 75-80 people attend - a nice mix of students,
faculty, parents, and even friends of parents. I received amazing
feedback from parents of kids who went...one mother told me that
her 17-year-old son came home and cried as he told her about the
documentary and Alepho's speech. He'd always been pretty "anti-immigrant"
but felt awful seeing what happened to these kids. She said their
conversation was one of the best they've had in ages.
Emma Brown
I just wanted to tell you that I have never been more moved by someone
in my entire life like I was moved by Alephonsion. His story, courage
and belief in life and dreams opened my eyes in a way that I had
no idea was possible. I have lived in many countries including Japan,
Mexico and Argentina, and I have also visited many countries in
my life so far, and I had always thought myself a cultured person
who understood the plight of people. I now see that perhaps my eyes
may not have been completely open, it may because I didn't want
them to be or because I was still too young to understand what I
was seeing.
I have heard many
people say that peace will never be possible due to human nature,
that we were all born with this innate desire to kill and conquer
to survive. After last night I realize how wrong that is. We were
all meant to help each other in times of trouble to get past the
troubles.
The wars that are going on all over the world sadden me now more
than ever.
Last night I wanted
to cry, not for myself, but for everyone and I know that may sound
cheesy or cliche but it's the truth. I got back to my room last
night and looked up the IRC website to see how I could help. I Have
never felt this way before, with this overwhelming desire to help.
When
you told him that we were financing his trip to see his mother,
the look on his face was one of the most beautiful and sincere looks
I have ever seen and now I realize that I want to help give people
that look, even if it is only one person in my life I want to help
give that look to someone.
I know this is a lengthy
email but it does have a purpose. I just wanted to say thank you.
Thank you for starting this program so that I could be a part of
it. Thank you for getting Alephonsion to speak to us, because I
would have perhaps turned into a cynic about life and human nature
due to all the war and suffering. Thank you for letting me see that
there are people who have overcome inconquerable odds and still
have a great sense of humor and a great outlook on life. Thank you
for so many more things that were revealed to me last night, I don't
know how I will ever repay my gratitude but I thought that you should
know how much last night was
important to me.
Thank you once again,
Emma Brown
Michelle K. Reid
I wanted to extend a personal thank you for coming to speak at our
University of Dreams seminar last week with Alephonsion Deng. Participating
in the University of Dreams this summer has been quite an experience
in itself, but I will truly remember the story you and Alepho shared
with us. We were all extremely touched and honored. I am currently
interning with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where I help coordinate
the wishes of children with life-threatening conditions. I enjoy
what I do because I dream of one day having a career where I can
help people and make a difference in their lives. The reward of
knowing that I have helped even just one person is invaluable, and
certainly a reason to wake up in the morning and go to work. All
too often young adults like myself graduate from college and settle
for jobs that they do not have a passion for or enjoy doing. I am
fighting to avoid being one of those people. When I saw Alepho speak,
I felt as though I had found my calling. My heart was racing. I
want to become part of the International Rescue Committee, or perhaps
an organization closely affiliated with it so that I can help people
just like Alephonsion. I recently graduated from the University
of Delaware, and I am hoping to stay in the Los Angeles area after
the conclusion of the University of Dreams program. I noticed on
the IRC website there were a couple open positions in Los Angeles,
which is truly exciting. I plan on applying online, but I also wanted
to see if you have any other suggestions. Once again, thank you
for spending time with us and sharing your stories.
Sincerely,
Michelle K. Reid
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