Out of Africa

By Bill Fonda/ bfonda@cnc.com

Thanks to her late Uncle Peter's doctoral research, Allison Graham dreamed of Africa long before she ever went there.

"When I was growing up, I always heard about Africa and elephants, so it was part of my life," she said.

Graham, a physical education and health teacher known as "Miss Allie" to her students at Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans, now has her own African tales, as she recently returned from Tanzania after visiting the Dr. Herman Wrice Community Center in Arusha for the One World Youth Project.

Former charter school student Jessica Rimington founded the project, which links youth groups from sister schools around the world through cultural understanding, leadership training and community service based on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

"Basically, it's trying to make this large planet into a smaller world," said Graham, a member of the project's board of directors.

Graham, who accompanied Rimington in Arusha, arrived Jan. 9 and left Jan. 15.

"It was spectacular. I've never felt anything like that," she said. "It was, hands down, the most joyful place I've ever been. Every single person I met celebrated living. My cheeks hurt by the end of the four days from smiling so much."

Graham spent three days at the Wrice Center, working with students on a statement about the eradication of extreme poverty to be presented at a congressional reception in April, written stories about poverty and a documentary that will be a joint project with charter school students.

This year's congressional reception comes on the heels of one last year on the right to a primary education for all children, both of which Rimington arranged.

"I can't say enough about how amazing this young woman is," Graham said. "She's inspiring youth all over the world, and she's a straight-A student at Georgetown University."

At one point in the trip, while Rimington was working with students, Graham e-mailed home using an Internet connection for which the Lighthouse school raised money last year by selling artwork from the center.

"It allows us to directly communicate with them there," she said. "It was really neat to be able to sit down and use it."

Graham hopes to sell more artwork at the Wellfleet Flea Market this summer, and said that while the center's goal is to be sustainable, it does not have enough money right now.

The trip was far from all work and no play. On the final day with the students, they treated Graham and Rimington to a traditional meal of ugali, a staple starch made of maize flour and water, and dancing even as a rainstorm rolled in.

Graham remembers the colors - the tans and browns on the ground and buildings combined with the reds, oranges and purples of clothing.

"The colors there were unbelievable," she said.

On the final day, Graham got a glimpse of her uncle's past, going on a safari in Manyara National Park. After seeing numerous birds, traditional homes, goats, donkeys and trees, she looked to her left to see baboons.

"Just to see them in front of you, it was awe-inspiring," she said.

But there was more: monkeys, giraffes, impalas and, yes, elephants.

"To see the elephants, it makes me cry just thinking about it," she said.

Now that she is back in Orleans, Graham has begun drama and writing workshops for the Lighthouse students' role in the documentary and planning for the One World Youth Project retreat in Costa Rica, which is scheduled for July.

The four-day event will feature workshops on the environment and sustainability, and at least two students are going from the charter school, which has also committed to pay for a student from Tanzania. Graham is teaching a seminar class on Costa Rica and working on fund-raising ideas for the retreat.

Graham said she is going back to Tanzania "as soon as I can."

"I would go back in a heartbeat," she said.

However, she also hopes to raise enough money for a student exchange.

"I really would love for some of the students to experience it."

For information on the One World Youth Project or to read Graham's journal from her trip to Tanzania, visit www.oneworldyouthproject.org. Click on "The Journey" for the journal.