A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION
V O L U M E
SPRING 2013
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Educator Profile: The Hilltop Humanitarian Group Great things happen when like-minded teachers bring their ideas together! Educators Martyn Chapman and Jodi Rosvold formed The Hilltop Humanitarian Group (HHG) in September of 2007 as a means to engage their students in global issues. Upon foror l h a loca “Working wit mation, students from carried out reew vi a s ve gi on ganizati ing out rather search to choose a the inside look partner country. outside lookthan from the Due to the high ing in.” number of orphans relative to the population, the students chose Uganda. The next step was to find an organization to partner with; one that was transparent and accountable to how money was handled. While this proved to be difficult, HHG persevered in trying to find a local women’s group. Little did Jodi know that on the day she would phone the office of the Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), a local Ugandan NGO, they were at the point of closing their orphanage. HHG began their partnership immediately and funding to keep the orphanage open was sent by the end of the school year. The aim of HHG is to provide sustainable long-term funding that can be put into the budget by
local partners. HHG now sends US $3000 every three months to its partners in Uganda . While this is a large commitment for a relatively small school and demands a lot of work from the students involved, it also opens up many opportunities. HHG has been fortunate enough to have a succession of excellent student leaders who have shared their time and skills to the organization and partnership. In July of 2009 a team of six students, two staff advisors, and one parent travelled to Uganda to stay at the orphanage for five weeks. Weekday mornings were spent volunteering in the local primary school and the afternoons were spent improving the orphanage and working on community projects. Sunday mornings were spent at different Churches meeting with the community. This was a great experience and never to be forgotten by all involved. While a successful international partnership takes time and energy, when carried out thoughtfully and ethically, it can create many opportunities for participants on both ends.
A dedication to learning about global issues and an openness to learning from others are just two ways students and educators can benefit from an international partnership. It takes commitment, but is clearly worthwhile. Hilltop wishes to thank High Park School in Stony Plain where students have raised money to improve the toilet facilities of a child in the care of UWESO with severe special needs and to provide some individual teaching for her. They also wish to thank past and present members of HHG, especially Marilyn Dudinsky. If you would like to learn more about the Hilltop Humanitarian Group and the process taken to connect directly with a local organization, please contact Hilltop School in Whitecourt.
Development in a Box—Digital Resource Development in a Box is now in its fifth year and being used by over 500 schools across Alberta. This free resource includes lesson plans, hands-on activities, as well as connections to local organizations from the ACGC membership. Development in a Box was designed to aid educators in the incorporation of global issues into the Alberta
curriculum and classroom. Do you have your free Development in a Box yet? While we've run out of hard copies, we have plenty of DVD copies to share! Development in a Box is available for grades 1-6 and grades 7-12. Visit acgc.ca to sign up today or view the resource online.