Wausau substitute teacher Kristen Bauer involves elementary students in global project.
By Keith Uhlig • Wausau Daily Herald • May 4, 2010
When Kristen Bauer was a college student, she got involved in a project that opened her eyes to the world and impressed on her the importance of giving.
Now, the 23-year-old substitute teacher with the Wausau School District is sharing that lesson with students in two elementary schools.
Bauer was studying elementary education at St. Norbert College in De Pere when she got involved in the Zambia Project. It's a nonprofit organization that raises money for open community schools in Zambia. Community schools are those which provide education to the poorest of Zambia's children, those that can't afford regular schools that charge fees.
The Zambia Project also organizes trips to Zambia to deliver school supplies in person, and in 2008,
Bauer went on one of the trips. She had never traveled so far before, and the African poverty stunned her. She vowed to continue working with the Project even after she graduated in 2009.
"It just opens your eyes, it gives you a whole different perspective," Bauer said.
Bauer hasn't been able to find a full-time job, so she returned to Wausau, her hometown, to substitute teach. And the 2005 graduate of Wausau East High School plans to return to Zambia next month to deliver more supplies. To help her collect supplies, she told the story of her involvement with the Zambia Project to the students in Riverview and Franklin elementary schools in Wausau.
Students of the two schools have responded overwhelmingly, collecting suitcases full of pencils, erasers, markers and other school supplies. "I expected that they would want to get involved," Bauer said. "But I never expected this much. I keep thinking, why didn't I go to the kids sooner."
Bauer's idea was to not only get the students to feel a connection with the Zambia Project, but to help them understand that they are connected to the world at large. "We all live in our bubbles," Bauer said. "I just think it's so important that they become aware of that bigger world." Bauer's story caught the attention of Alexis Pickard, 10, a fourth-grader at Franklin Elementary School. "I felt that she (Bauer) was doing something to help other people," Alexis said. Alexis wanted to help others, too. "To me, it feels good to give something to another kid who needs it," she said. Steve Miller, the principal at Riverview, said Bauer's story helped students learn "about cooperation and giving to others. ... Education is the hope of Zambia, and we are playing a part in that."
