As the world becomes a small global village, students are finding it easier to communicate with other students around the world. Readington Middle School students also wrote and translated their cultural experience with students in Nepal. Rotary International District 7510 and Branchburg Rotary will be providing $18,000 grant to build three complete libraries in Nepal as well to help students so that students have access to global information.

Sixth-graders at Readington Middle School in Hunterdon County heard from Mount Everest climber Mr. Joseph Yanuzzi of Bethelem, Pennsylvania at a special school assembly as part of culminating activity of a social studies unit that was developed to expose sixth graders to a new global village experience of different world cultures.

The unit was kicked off with an assembly where Dr. Tulsi R. Maharjan, founder of the Nepal Orphan Project introduced students to his homeland. Students were urged to work on "Make a Difference Day" to help Nepalese orphans. Students took the message to their heart and raised $2,600 for the Nepal Orphan Project.

Students were pleased that their hard work will pay for 50 orphans to receive school supplies and education for an entire year. Students also had an opportunity to "Skype" with their counterparts in Nepal.

By Kyanna Ouyang and Hitha Santosh

On April 25, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, killing more than 8,000 Nepalese and injuring twice as many.

As of today, hundreds are still missing. Entire villages were flattened and subsequent landslides and avalanches destroyed thousands more houses, rendering almost half a million Nepalese homeless and without shelter. On May 12, there was yet another devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.3.

To contribute to aid effort, the French students of Ridge High School raised money to fund rebuilding efforts in the region. Under the guidance of French teachers Mrs. Gozlan and Mrs. vonDoehren, we sold bracelets for a few dollars each setting a goal of $3,000.

To publicize our efforts, we created posters and flags that were hung all around our school. Students also sold bracelets to their friends and relatives outside or school: at dance recitals, sports practices, etc. Some even collected money door-to-door in their neighborhoods.

Yesterday, the fundraiser ended, and we greatly surpassed our original goal, collecting a total of $4,670 to help the people of Nepal.

This amount will be used by the aid organization “Friends of Nepal-New Jersey”, will enable the building of 3 to 4 houses, which will be a small step in providing shelter to the half-million homeless Nepalese. At a ceremony at Ridge High School, held yesterday, this money was presented to the president of “Friends of Nepal-New Jersey”. The check was handed off by student Anastasia Mahdavian, who raised $238, the greatest amount collect individually.

To us in America, a dollar does not seem like much—it barely buys us a drink at the vending machine. However, for millions of people around the world, a dollar is often the difference between life and death, between starvation and a full stomach. In Nepal, one dollar can sustain an entire family for several days.

Fifty dollars will provide one child’s education for a year. Imagine what we can accomplish in the world if every person in America contributes a single dollar. By participating in this is a lesson that we, and the rest of the French students at Ridge High School, have internalized.