By Matthew Laurrie
Assistant Features Editor
Five years ago, St. Bonaventure students embarked on a journey that took them thousands of miles across the world and enabled them to impact countless lives, including their own.
Embrace it Africa, an SBU international service organization, has been continuing its mission ever since. Its most recent endeavor encouraged students to put down their books and pick up their rackets, if only for a day.
“It’s important people realize not everyone is as fortunate as we are; if we’re in a position to do something, shouldn’t we?”
This wisdom from Pauline Hoffmann, interim dean of the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication, embodies Embrace it Africa’s undertakings on campus and abroad.
The student service organization sponsored a badminton tournament this week to raise funds to support the education of students at the Bethlehem Parent’s School and Orphanage in Uganda.
Cydney Kramer, a senior international studies major, said the group decided to hold its first-ever badminton tournament on campus to integrate the messages Embrace it Africa promotes while simultaneously serving up an interactive, amusing activity to raise money for a worthwhile cause.
“We’ve done a volleyball tournament for the past two years in the fall, and we wanted to kind of pick another tournament to do in the spring,” said Kramer, president of Embrace it Africa. “We find that doing intramural tournaments tends to be really successful because we get a lot of people that might not necessarily know about Embrace it Africa, (and) we’ve been able to spread our message.”
Embrace it Africa hopes to raise enough money through the tournament to buy educational materials for its friends abroad.
“All the proceeds are going to go to purchase school supplies for the school,” Kramer said. “Every year, we always devote a certain portion of our budget for the year to purchase crayons, pens, pencils, notebooks – things that the kids need.”
The group has set a monetary goal of $250, although Kramer said the influence of Embrace it Africa’s message is priceless.
“My personal goal when it comes to fundraising on campus is not necessarily the fiscal amount of money we raise, but more spreading the word and having people be aware,” Kramer said.
Embrace it Africa advertised its event this week in the Reilly Center and held the tournament yesterday in the Richter Center. The matches featured teams of two to four students in a round-robin elimination competition, Kramer said. Prizes were awarded to the top three teams.
Hoffmann reiterated the importance of investing confidence in the abilities of Bonaventure students. She said she passionately believes Embrace it Africa is a vessel through which students are making a difference in the world.
“Students are coming back with a greater understanding of how the world works,” Hoffmann said. “I hope people recognize this is a completely student-run organization; the students are really driving it. That’s pretty empowering; that speaks to what they’ve learned here at Bonaventure.”
Embrace it Africa’s ultimate mission is to inspire people in Bethlehem, Uganda. The group specifically hopes to encourage the students, parents, families and friends associated with the Bethlehem Parent’s School and Orphanage, where the organization focuses a great deal of its attention.
The group concentrates on sustainability and development within the Bethlehem community. Since its 2008 inception, Embrace it Africa has taken five service trips to tackle issues ranging from HIV/AIDS to economic development, and has sparked tremendous growth and prosperity.
Kramer reflected on the impact St. Bonaventure has had on the Ugandan community the last several years and identified the scope of its work.
“St. Bonaventure is everything to these people,” Kramer said. “We’ve been there so many times, and they know we’re there for good. I think that’s something really unique that we’ve been able to bring to a developing country in a small little village that has been forever changed since we started working there.”
laurrima11@bonaventure.edu
