Project Baobob to teach students, assist in needy Ghana village

By JESSICA DAIGLE

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Typical high school students usually have other things to worry about besides running off to Africa to not only help people, but also possibly gain knowledge about themselves.

Then there are teenagers like Jessica Lennix and Earl Harris Jr., two East St. John High students ready and eager to do just that.

Project Baobab is an organization created to allow Greater New Orleans area students to venture into Ghana, West Africa, to experience a world outside of their own, absorb a new culture and learn a history not yet known by them.

The project, which started as a brainstorm by a group mostly comprised of Teach for America members, is an effort, which will send 11 students overseas for two weeks this June with hopes the experience, will “build lasting team and leadership skills as well as global awareness.”

Marion Abramson High School and Sarah T. Reed High School, both in New Orleans East, The High School Signature Center in Uptown New Orleans, and East St. John are the participating schools.

“The point is to build leadership skills in these kids because we live in a community that is thirsty for some good leaders,” said Ellen Whitesides, East St. John High teacher and Project Baobab team member.

According to stats presented by the group, 40 percent of children in the Greater New Orleans area live under the poverty line.

Only 60 percent of public high school students graduate. Opportunities like this one do not come often for local students.

As for Earl and Jessica, they are just ready to go. The students submitted essays and were selected to participate in back in January, and the following months have been an array of planning, fundraising events, team building exercises, and seminars.

Even before they have gone to Africa, Earl’s mother, Shirley Harris, has said Earl is already changing and gaining experience from his new friends.

“It’s brought together kids from different schools, and he’s connected with them right off the bat,” Harris said, “They are like best friends now, friends that he would have never met if not for the project.”

The students will live with families in the village of Taviefe and help build a library. They will also work in partnership with local high school students and meet the village’s elders and chiefs.

Jessica expects to get an appreciation for what she has and the what is taken for granted, and Earl wants to “see the faces of people when we help them.”

They are also being practical in the benefits this project may bring. Earl said he hopes the project will look good on a college application.

“Maybe I’ll have something that somebody else doesn’t have,” he said.

Jessica, who is considering the medical field and working abroad, hopes this trip will reveal if she adjusts well to be being in a different country,

“It’s easy to say I want to work in Africa, but it’s different to actually go there,” she said.

Earl’s mother said she believes the kids will benefit by understanding the business world as a global economy.

“You’re not just doing business with people down the street anymore,” Harris said.

Whitesides said that Jessica and Earl are very strong students from the group.

“Earl has an overwhelming positive attitude and is great at building up the group,” Whitesides said, “Jessica is one of our real strong leaders. I know a lot of the girls look up to her.”

Earl’s mother said she hopes the experience will make a lasting impression on her son.

“Other people live in another country with another culture on another continent,” she said, “and he can gain a true appreciation for what he has as a citizen of the United States.”

The students will leave on June 11 and return on the 24th of June. Their last fundraising effort takes place this Sunday with an event at Harrah’s Casino in the Earl Turner Theatre which includes live music, food from local restaurants and a silent auction.

Tickets are $25, and may be purchased at the door or by calling (504) 261-4931.

Whitesides said she applauds her students for taking on this challenge.

“You have to be so brave in undertaking something like this as a high school student that doesn’t really know anybody who has done anything like this,” she said.

“They’re really taking a step outside their comfort zone, and I am proud of them.”