Written by Melissa McDonald, World Affairs Council 

This summer, the World Affairs Council of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky partnered with the Center for Great Neighborhoods to provide cultural awareness experiences for students at all five Covington elementary schools during Camp Covington, a five-week summer learning program provided by Covington Partners and Covington Independent Public Schools. Students learned from the World Affairs Council's Global Guide Fellow, Enock Sadiki. Enock is a local high school student and a refugee from Uganda. The collaboration was a huge success for everyone, including Enock, the organizations, schools, and all of the students.

Throughout our time together, students learned about the character strength of perseverance. They discovered more about Ugandan culture by Enock presenting pictures and information about the geography, culture, and food of Uganda. Enock shared a personal story of his life in Uganda through his published book, The Most Essential Part of My Life. The students were very interested in hearing about Enock’s life and what he experienced as a refugee. They were also excited to meet a real live author and to receive a personalized, signed copy of Enock’s book, produced through Maketank, Inc.’s Illustrated Memoir Project. Students were able to take home two other multicultural books which were purchased from Friends of the Public Library.

When asked to share their experiences of meeting Enock and learning about Uganda, one student wrote, “Thank you for bringing Enock. I learned a lot when he was here. He is a great book writer. I learned a lot when he lived in Uganda. What shocked me was he had no phones or tablet or any devices in Uganda. I also learned Enock never gives up on his dream at soccer when he had to move away.”

Camp Covington was personally a special experience for me because I had the opportunity to return to the school district I attended as a child. My passion for social studies and learning about the world began at Sixth District Elementary with my third grade teacher, Mrs. Searcy. This interest continued at Latonia Elementary and Holmes High School. It led to a teaching career in international education where I have been fortunate to study, live, and work in many countries. It has been an honor to meet and inspire the students of Covington Independent Public Schools in collaboration with our Global Guide Enock, Covington Partners, the Center for Great Neighborhoods, and Maketank, Inc. 

The Center for Great Neighborhoods was sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. Enock’s books were purchased through a generous grant from ArtsWave. The funding for our Global Guide Fellow and the multicultural books was provided by World Affairs Council’s generous sponsors and donors. 

A tremendous thank you to everyone! We look forward to many more opportunities to share cross-cultural learning experiences together!

Article submitted by Melissa McDonald, World Affairs Council