From kindergarten to twelfth grade, the American Overseas School of Rome spurs all its students to share their human resources to fight poverty and ignorance, and to tackle the injustices of the global economic divide. Instead of superficially plowing the platitudes of the world’s tragedies, AOSR chose instead to form a meaningful relationship with a small school serving specific local community in the third world, to form reciprocal bonds of friendship and understanding: Bridge to Bahia, AOSR and ICBIE. In the last sixteen months, Salvador has become a familiar place to everyone, and the initials I.C.B.I.E. immediately flash back to another magic Friday, when Julio and Bigode painted their marvelous mural. Today, their artwork acted as a backdrop for the second annual Bridge to Bahia toy sale.
Two weeks ago, the eleventh graders in the International Baccalaureate program gave presentations to all the elementary classrooms, where they talked about poverty and the lack of education in the Third World, and they described the conditions in the Brazilian favelas as an example. Then they asked all the children to bring in one toy or book that they had outgrown, to have a big toy sale for the benefit of the ICBIE.
After a morning of fun, everyone knew that they had done something important for our friends at the ICBIE.
