Student Life
middle school Student Service Leadership Conference Program 2019
Learning to Serve Alongside Our Two Sister Schools By Zaara Bhatia ’23 and Lecholas Njomin ’23
On January 6, 2019, students from sister schools Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS), Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH), and Hong Kong International School met at HKIS for the 6th annual Student Leadership Conference. At HKIS, High School and Middle School students have been taking part in this conference for six years with around 20 MS students participating this year. This four-day experience has become a tradition for HKIS and its sister schools and it’s an experience to be remembered. Students meet to discuss issues in our world today, how to be a good leader, and how they can make a difference. Guest speakers were called to inspire and educate, and activities were designed to raise awareness giving the participants an acute understanding of world issues and what they can do about them. During the conference, we traveled to the Crossroads Foundation, an international ssroads. Cro at ing charity based in eer unt vol Student participants Hong Kong where students took part in group service projects, such as cleaning out computers for needy children, packing clothes for poverty-ridden areas, recycling and many more, giving us the satisfaction of being able to help those in need. Nghia Tran from CISH mentioned that, “the most meaningful thing that I did at the conference was to help clean computers at Crossroads Foundation.”
students gained insight on the struggles of people who could have AIDS, but lack proper medical treatment, and a blind simulation which stripped students of their sight and challenged them to maneuver their way through a [re-creation of a] small village in a pitch black room. These eye-opening exercises taught us how to not just sympathize but to empathize with the struggles that these people go through. Being able to experience this for ourselves was extremely impactful making every one of us feel for the millions in these situations. In the words of Jengus Ercil ’23 from HKIS, “The most memorable moment was when we went to Crossroads and did all the simulations, that was a crazy experience and I learned a lot.” Throughout the conference, participants received talks from influencers and activists. Jordan Hattar, a refugee worker, was with us the whole time, teaching us about leadership, giving us exercises and activities, describing how he helped refugees by raising funds for affordable housing in the Middle East and introducing us to other role models from all sorts of backgrounds. We Facetimed with Alex Myteberi, a six-yearold boy (now eight) who wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to send a Syrian refugee to his house so that they can be a family and was congratulated by the President himself for it. Alex inspired us by the pure kindness of his heart. Kaira Sheth of HKIS put it simply, “I think that if there were more people like Alex, this world would be a much better place.”
Yet what most of the students recalled as one of the more impactful activities were the simulations we took part in at Crossroads. This included an HIV-AIDS simulation, where 44
DRAGONTALES SUMMER 2019
Group discussions and reflections — a feature of the conference.
