Next All Ami & the Challenges of Doom
Fifth-grader Clara noted, “There’s no better feeling than knowing you’re helping the community.”
Local
students from Sikoro joined the AISB students to learn about the
selected health issues from Mali Health staff before showing their AISB
friends around their neighborhoods. “It was so exciting because I got to
have new friends and learn about a new culture,” commented Aida, a
fourth-grade AISB student.
There
are relatively few opportunities for students from AISB to cross paths
with children and youth from Bamako. We do have a number of service
learning projects that include local students visiting our school, but
otherwise, our paths would most likely never cross in our day-to-day
lives.
A
day later, the local students visited AISB. Students from both schools
worked together to develop a plot, storyboard and illustration ideas for
the novel. The challenge for them was creating a story that is engaging
for kids while providing important health information. It’s a delicate
balance, but they have been wonderfully successful so far. The local
students also posed for photographs that were eventually used as the
basis for the illustrations in the story.
This
collaborative process affects all of the students. “When you work as a
team, you can really make a difference for a community,” noted
fourth-grade AISB student Bijan.
The
collaboration between AISB and local students is key to the success of
this project. It’s important that the local students feel they are an
integral part of the graphic novel, that it’s not something strangers
are doing and dropping on their doorstep.
Once
this visit was over, the AISB students completed the remainder of the
work over the course of four weeks, including ink illustrations,
scanning of the drawings, final text and importing it all into a comic
software program. AISB middle school French classes take on the task of
translating the novel into French. Using funds donated by AISB parents,
the school was able to print 1,000 copies of the book, all of which were
donated to Mali Health for distribution to children and families in
Sikoro. “I think the local kids will appreciate this comic when they
read it,” said fourth-grader Gladd. “And I hope that they share it with
their friends so the information goes all around the city and the
world.”
Aissatou,
a fifth-grader at AISB, added, “This was a captivating experience I’ll
never forget. I think we will make a difference in peoples’ lives.”
This service-learning project includes elements of many different disciplines covered throughout the school year.
It’s
important to understand that a teacher can address so many academic
concepts in a project like this. And imagine how much more engaging it
is to learn by working on a real-world project that can potentially save
lives.
This
project also allows students to develop critical thinking and
problem-solving skills, to gain an understanding of diverse cultures and
communities, to learn more about social issues and their root causes,
and to satisfy an urge toward public service and civic participation.
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