There’s no gap between ROCC and a hard place

High school students reach out to touch lives far from home.

By: Gwen Runkle
   While many of their fellow students are focused on studying for that next math quiz or who won the last soccer game, five teens from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South are working on issues not so close to home.
   The students formed ROCC, Relieving Other Countries’ Conditions, to help impoverished families in Third World nations live healthy lives.
   Since forming last January, the group has held a yard sale, collected school supplies for the American Red Cross School Chest program and held cultural book read-ins as well as craft events at the Plainsboro Public Library.
   Today, the group is holding a sanitary-supply drive for families in Nigeria through a partnership with SOSAFRIK International, Inc., a humanitarian organization focused on children and youth issues.
   SOSAFRIK’s mission is to improve health awareness, education, intercultural exchange and programs geared towards encouraging youth to be more active in the process of social, economic and political development.
   ROCC is collecting supplies, such as toothbrushes, soap, towels, toothpaste and other items necessary for hygiene. These will be assembled into aid bags which members of SOSAFRIK will take to Nigeria in July.
   Collection boxes are currently located in the Plainsboro Public Library, the West Windsor Branch of the Mercer County Library, Town Center Elementary School at Plainsboro and Thomas R. Grover Middle School in West Windsor.
   "I wanted to form a group where my friends and I could teach each other about different cultures," said Melike Harfouche, a junior and founder of ROCC, and "be of more direct help to other countries than what was already offered by other clubs."
   Too often, students get so preoccupied with school and other activities they fail to notice what is happening in the wider world, she said. ROCC gives students a chance to learn about other cultures and gain effective leadership and management skills as well.
   "So many organizations already focus on America," said Christina Luzzi, a junior and ROCC member. "We thought we might as well broaden our horizons to help overseas countries.
   "It’s been really interesting and helpful," she continued. "Particularly with working in groups. We’ve had to learn how to communicate effectively and manage everyone’s ideas."
   "I’ve found it’s helped learning in a group," added Jane Shersher, also a junior. "You really have to develop buildable goals."
   Currently, each member of ROCC is "babysitting a cause."
   "Each of us has picked a cause to work on, like education in Russia, national disasters in Latin America, poverty in the Philippines or health in Afghanistan," said Joanna Yang, a junior. "We’ve definitely been learning a lot about the world we wouldn’t normally get the chance to.
   "It feels really rewarding to be involved in an organization like this because your work really helps what happens all over, not just in our community or school," she added.
   The group found out about health concerns in Nigeria while working on issues in Africa last fall. Throughout November and October, the ROCC held public readings at the Plainsboro Public Library to raise awareness of conditions in Africa.
   "We also did Afri-crafts — themed art projects — after we read," Joanna said.
   ROCC partnered with SOSAFRIK in January.
   "Originally we were looking for someone to sponsor our group, but it turned out to be harder than we thought," Melike said. "So now we just work through other organizations, which has given us a lot of freedom.
   "SOSAFRIK has been wonderful because they’ll be taking all the supply bags to Africa," she continued. "Without them, there’d be no way we could afford to ship everything to Nigeria."
   So far, the group has not collected a lot of supplies, but Melike is confident donations will pick up as more collection boxes are put out.
   "It seems to be going slowly right now, but we have some time to go until July," she said. "Now, there aren’t a lot of collection spots but hopefully there will be soon. We’re also trying to get contributions from companies as well."
For more information on the collection drive or the ROCC, visit the Web site www.freewebs.com/rocc.