May 17, 2002 By Jackie Beranek 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE – College Prep (CP) history students at Connellsville Senior High School and their teacher, Edwin Zylka, have undertaken a fund-raising project to help the children of Afghanistan. And, according to Zylka, young people across the United States have taken up the same cause.

“I introduced the possibility of the project to students in class after reading an article about the children of Afghanistan and how hard it has been to get school supplies such as notebooks, pencils with erasers and drawing paper to restart their schools,” Zylka said.

Zylka said that’s when he suggested that the CP students get involved because they had to do a nine-week project anyway.

“Sophomore Robyn Ansell went on the Internet and found the American Red Cross School Chest Program, where young people in the United States have been providing school supplies to children around the world whose lives have been disrupted by armed conflict, natural disasters and social and economic upheaval,” said the teacher.

The American Red Cross is trying to collect 2,000 school chests by May 31, to help the children, according to Zylka, because many Afghan children have had limited access to education and the country has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

Ansell said the American Red Cross wants to provide basic school supplies to about 120,000 Afghan children by June.

Sophomore Stephanie Weible said notebooks, notepads, composition books, pencil sharpeners, metric or metric/inch rulers, geometry safety compasses, colored chalk, blackboard erasers, crayons, tape measurer, deflated soccer balls and standard air pumps with needles are needed in addition to jump ropes.

Donations can be made to the Connellsville Senior High School Activity Fund Project School Chest, said Zylka, and materials can be dropped off at the school.

Zylka said one of the best ways to stop terrorism is to educate children. “That’s why we are trying to let them know what’s going on in the world,” said Zylka.

“Hopefully, this will give them (the children) hope for the future.”

Weible said the fund drive began on May 15 and will run through May 24.

“By doing this we hope that we are letting the children of Afghanistan know that they do need to get a good education, and we are willing to help with that goal,” Heather Smitley, another student said.

Zylka said many of the Afghanistan schools have been blown apart and the materials they used have been lost in the war. “I heard of situations where they have no seats and the school rooms are crowded,” said Zylka. “And, and in the meantime, they are trying to rebuild a society.”

Zylka said his class has also discussed the fact that many female students were not allowed to attend school while the Taliban ruled the country.

“It touches our hearts that these girls are now allowed to return to school,” said Weible.

“Women who became doctors, engineers, lawyers and professionals in general, were not allowed to practice under the old Taliban leadership,” said Zylka.