Tyrone High School Youth Action Network members made a special delivery to the executive director of the Panzi USA Foundation during a recent field trip to Washington, DC.
YAN President Hannah Johnston presented a check for $2,000 to Panzi Foundation Executive Director Emily Warne on Friday, March 22.
“It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet some of these young changemakers and activists in person. I find the enthusiasm of the staff and students to be inspiring, and being able to thank them in person for their support, on behalf of my Congolese colleagues, was very moving,” Warne said.
The money was raised through donations made by the community at the YAN Halloween Event in October, where a portion of the money goes to the Panzi Foundation, and by Tyrone High School students through the annual Pennies for Panzi fundraiser in February, in which all funds go to the foundation.
“There’s something special about being able to hand deliver the check rather than just putting it in the mail,” said Johnson.
YAN has been supporting the Panzi Hospital with an annual donation for the past sixteen years, longer than any other school in the nation.
Students learn about the conflict in the DRC in their World Cultures class and part of the YAN’s annual Pennies for Panzi campaign is educating the students and public about Dr. Mukwege and the mission of the Panzi Hospital.
“The support from the students and community of Tyrone means a great deal to Panzi,” Warne told the students. “It demonstrates that the need to eradicate conflict-related sexual violence resonates with people around the globe, even if they’re thousands of miles away from the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is no shortage of emerging crises in the world, and the fact that Tyrone has supported Panzi for over a decade is a powerful signal to the survivors we serve that their suffering has not been forgotten by the international community.”
The Panzi Hospital is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has experienced a great deal of violence and civil war over the years. The hospital was founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege to treat victims of sexual violence.
Warne told the students that the humanitarian crisis in the DRC is one of the most neglected in the world, and has been ongoing for nearly thirty years.
Warne said that over 7 million people have been killed and an estimated 8 million women have been raped since the crisis began, 7 million people are currently displaced, and more than 25 million are experiencing food insecurity.
Since Panzi Hospital opened its doors 25 years ago, it has treated over 80,000 survivors of sexual violence.
“We are grateful for the awareness the campaign raises within the community and hope that the students will continue to advocate for peace and justice in the DRC long after this year’s Pennies for Panzi concludes,” Warne said.
In addition to presenting the check to the Panzi Foundation, the students also visited several other sites on the National Mall, including the National Holocaust Museum.
The Holocaust has been talked about for years in school so visiting the museum brought everything the students learned into greater focus.
The students also visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and explored three floors of exhibits, including dinosaur fossils, a butterfly walk-through, and exhibits of precious gems and crystals.
The annual YAN field trip to Washington DC is both a learning experience and a reward for the work that the students put into the YAN Halloween Event, Pennies for Panzi, the 4D Movie Event, and other YAN activities throughout the year.
