Extraordinary Evening Planned At Cole's 'Universal Children's Night'

A multi-faceted cultural celebration and international issues awareness evening is being held at Cole Middle School in East Greenwich on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. Universal Children’s Night, coordinated by the Cole Global Studies Program, is aimed at giving Cole students, their families, and the wider community an appreciation for worldwide cultures as well as a greater understanding of hardships faced by children around the globe. 

“This is an evening that’s intended to be both fun but also serious and informative about the challenges faced by children around the world, particularly in developing nations,” said Global Studies Program coordinator and Spanish teacher Kathleen Hook. 

“While we celebrate diverse cultures, we are also highlighting the challenges of poverty, malnutrition, unsafe water supplies, and poor medical care, as well as the problems of refugees, and children, particularly girls, being blocked access to an education. We emphasize kindness in our school, and we want this event to underscore extending kindness to children worldwide who face many great challenges.” 

Heritage Tables, International Food & 10,000 Villages:

Dozens of informational display stations are being set up throughout the school, highlighting the food, artistry, dances and craftsmanship of numerous world cultures.

Heritage Tables, which families of Cole students have assembled, will display the arts and crafts, flags, maps, photos, traditional dress, music, cuisine and more, which reflect their own family’s heritage. Visitors can pick up a “passport” for the evening and be stamped as they wander through heritage tables representing numerous countries. 

“Eat Your Way Around the World” is the showcase of international food stations that will offer visitors food specialties from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Mexico and parts of Central America, that are found in local ethnic restaurants.  There will also be fair trade chocolate and coffee tables in the food station area. 

The International Bazaar will be selling household goods, jewelry, and crafts made by women in developing nations and will highlight the work of “10,000 Villages”, an organization devoted to helping women create business enterprises in those nations.

Humanitarian Relief Advocacy Center:

Students from Brown University’s Global Studies Department who participate in a UNICEF club are expected to be present for the event, specifically at the Humanitarian Relief Advocacy Center, which is being set up in the Cole Library. The center will highlight the worldwide efforts to help children by organizations such as UNICEF; Save the Children; Oxfam; and the Heifer Farm; as well as the current Red Cross effort to help victims of the recent Philippines typhoon disaster. 

“Our students are learning about a variety of international problems, and through our Humanitarian Relief Center, we can raise awareness of organizations that work to find solutions to those difficult problems," said school librarian and Global Studies assistant Phyllis Humphrey.   

The Humanitarian Relief center will also offer the chance for Cole families to help other families in need this holiday season. Dorcas House of Providence, which provides help to political refugee families who resettle in Rhode Island, will link families in need to Cole families wishing to participate in the “Adopt a Family from the Map of the World” program. Details to be provided at the station.

Refugees’ Documentary, Vaccinations, Water Station:

A short film made by students in the Cole News club, called a “Cole Cares Documentary,” focusing on the plight of children in refugee camps worldwide will be aired. 

“We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and efforts of the Cole News club to put together this informative documentary on the crisis of refugees so that all our students can more easily understand this difficult and growing problem,” said Hook.

There will also be a “Shot @ Life Photo Booth,” a photo booth station set up to raise awareness of vaccination programs in developing nations aimed at eradicating disease. 

Water Station: The widespread problem of unsanitary drinking water faced in many countries will be highlighted through the Water Station. Participants will experience the burden of carrying heavy water containers from distant water sources just to access clean water for drinking. UNICEF estimates that over 760 million people across the globe remain without easy acess to safe, clean drinking water and an estimated 700,000 children die each year from diseases linked to unsanitary drinking water supplies. An estimated 2.5 billion live without proper sanitation systems overall.

The Triumph of Malala & Girls’ Education Awareness:

There will be a station dedicated to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban last year for being outspoken on the right of girls to get an education in her Swat Valley, Pakistan region. Malala, who spent months in a British hospital after being shot on her own school bus, recovered and regained her courage to speak out against efforts to block girls from school. She gave an inspired speech to the United Nations last summer, was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, and was nominated this fall for the Nobel Peace Prize. She is now a global ambassador for the cause of providing proper access to education for school aged girls worldwide. Segments of her speech to the U.N. will be aired at the Malala table. Global estimates are that 85 million girls, and 60 million boys worldwide, between the ages of 6-12 years, do not attend school.

Finally, the evening will feature roving music and dance troupes performing in small groups around the school, and games from around the globe will be played in the gym. All proceeds raised from the evening go toward UNICEF and its wide range of programs in developing nations.

The Global Studies program of Cole Middle School wishes to thank the following for their efforts in helping to make the Universal Children’s Night a reality:

• Cole Parent Teacher Group

• Cole Student News Group

• East Greenwich Education Foundation

• East Greenwich Cultural Organization of the Arts

• Cole Families & East Greenwich Community

Participating R.I. Restaurants:

• Crowne Plaza, Warwick

• Zooma, Providence

Rasa, East Greenwich