Our Opinion: Keep watchful eye on selection of next Luzerne County manager

Customers all aboard for National Lionel Train Day

Kihinga George recently visited the Wilkes University campus as part of the &#8220;Embrace a Child in Tanzania&#8221; campaign that Zebra Communications, Wilkes&#8217; student-run public relations firm, has been running for the past several years.Since the event, we have seen a great deal of support from the local community about our efforts to help Kihinga attain his dream. The goals of &#8220;Embrace a Child&#8221; are personal for both Zebra and for the student it supports. Questions have arisen, however, about why we are helping this young man from Tanzania and not someone more local.When WNEP-TV ran a segment on Kihinga&#8217;s visit to Wilkes, viewers commented on its website. One user posed the question: &#8220;I have a concern about your program. When we have children here in the US suffering terrible circumstances, why does your program choose to go thousands of miles across continents to help someone? What&#8217;s wrong with helping a child right here?&#8221;While certainly a legitimate question, I feel this person, and others who feel the same way, are missing some of the key facts in this story.In addition to our work with &#8220;Embrace a Child,&#8221; Zebra also has raised money for many local businesses and nonprofits in our area. Since its inception in 2000, Zebra has raised more than $100,000 for local organizations including the local Salvation Army, Victims Resource Center, Candy&#8217;s Place, Jewish Family Services and the Children&#8217;s Miracle Network, just to name a few.According to aidforafrica.org, a website dedicated to providing aid for children in developing nations, the annual cost for educating a high school student in the United States is about $7,750. In countries such as Tanzania, the cost for school goes down as low as $650 per year. According to Jane Elmes-Crahall, professor of communication studies and faculty advisor for Zebra, &#8220;We know that for every $1,200 raised, one of Tanzania&#8217;s students will get tuition, housing, food, books and clothing for a year.&#8221;Many Wilkes students met Kihinga George during his recent 10-day visit to our university. Just because he was not born in a country that has as many opportunities as ours, should not mean that he should not have the chance to achieve his full potential.There are ways, other than military involvement, that we as a nation can help the world community. Programs like &#8220;Embrace a Child&#8221; help to ensure that every child has a chance, regardless of what their circumstances of birth would dictate.In an ideal world, programs like this would not be necessary. Every child would have the same opportunity to achieve his or her dreams. Simply put, as Kihinga said to our class a few weeks ago: &#8220;Education is the key of life; give me the chance and my dreams can be heard.&#8221;Zachary SmithMountain Top

Letter to the Editor: Zebra Communications aids local causes as well as students in Tanzania