Two Case Studies

Today (Monday) and Friday I spent most of the two days with the green clubs of two separate schools and thought I would comment on both of them a bit.

The two schools I visited were Grigor Prlichev in Ohrid and Goce Delcev in the town of Negotino.

Both schools are in the second phase of the Green School Program- so that means that not only have the had the USAID renovations, they have also had the presence of a "Green Club" for a full year and a half now. The Green Clubs are made up of 25 students- specially chosen- and they do different activities on their campuses to raise awareness and to educate their communities about the environment and what people can to do help out: i.e. picking up trash, turning off lights, turning off faucets, etc. They also make teaching materials to do presentations around the school- especially for the younger kids - and patrol the hallways after school to monitor the level of trash left or faucets left on, etc. In addition to their efforts made to change the behavior and habits of their students, the students are allowed 800 USD from USAID to change something about their school each year. Both of the schools we visited chose to change the faucets - either just to non-broken ones, or to automatically shutting off ones.

ANyway, so that's the official part of the Green Clubs. All of the work they do really has affected the schools and the surrounding communities: from helping teachers keep the hallways and classrooms clean and void of food trash- to advocating for buying new light bulbs, etc. However, what has struck me above all, is the level of passion and commitment these students have for their work and the changes seen in their lives as well as the students around them. Unless the US, where school clubs are commonplace, the is the first example of any type of organized group designed to empower students. I remember being in student government in high school and the feeling of importance that came from being listened to, encouraged, and valued as a member of the community. Many of the students, if not all, now feel a personal responsibility to be environmentally friendly, which is amazing, but it also very moving to see the long term effects this type of club will have in their lives. I think this is true of American schools as well, but it's so built into our system that it's hard to get through life without having been part of some sort of club, and the effect has probably been diluted by the intention to "empower" everyone- quite difficult when trying to run a high school.

One story was especially touching. Martin, a kid who had issues at home and at school and was known as the bully, was going downhill very fast. After a few months in the green club, he has become a passionate and sincere advocate for being green and although the younger kids may still be slightly scared of him, they now only have to recycle instead of give up their lunch money...

One of the advisors said that when the students put on their green shirts- donated by USAID- they take on a certain maturity and responsibility, through which they've gained respect from the students and the GC members respect their fellow students as well. I asked if they were the same after they took their shirts off- hoping that the maturity stuck around outside of their one meeting a week. The advisor laughed, held his head in his hands, and said: They never take them off- Every student wears his teeshirt every day!

I'm inspired. If these students can find a passion at age 12, I certainly can soon.

Love,
Tess