Model U.N. Experience Becomes Reality in Africa

Teen Puts Winning Essay to Work

Christina Dawson was flipping through a CosmoGirl magazine when a contest caught her eye: Write an essay about what you would do to help African children, and win a trip to the continent with other youth ambassadors.

Dawson, a senior at Chopticon High School when she learned of the contest in the spring, wrote that she would use her artistic skills to "add color to the classroom." She drew on her experiences, such as living in Malaysia and visiting Peru, to explain the challenges faced by children in developing countries.

"I've been in Model United Nations, but I wanted to see things firsthand," said Dawson, 17, whose family lives in California in St. Mary's County.

Dawson was one of 20 teenagers from the United States and Canada selected to travel to South Africa and Namibia for six weeks this summer to build houses, fences and a playground and mentor and teach children.

"The kids were also out and about, so we would rotate, working and then playing with them," Dawson said. "You would think that it would be hard to communicate with them because we don't speak the same language, but we were able to teach them how to count and things like that just through eye contact. I learned a lot about communication."

The teens, ages 16 to 19, were Hero Youth Ambassadors, from the Hero campaign, which was started by the U.N. Association and USAID to provide school-based aid and education to children in African communities with high rates of HIV-AIDS.

The trip was also sponsored and partially funded by Protecting Futures, a campaign to improve schools and girls' education in southern Africa.

Protecting Futures also sponsored a crew to produce a film that will be featured in "Webisodes" this fall.

Dawson said that one of her favorite projects during the trip was building a community playground in Namibia and watching children play on it.

"I have never seen a group of children so excited about a swing set," she said. "They were all yelling and screaming, and there was a long line for these four swings."

Dawson, a freshman at Bard College in Upstate New York, plans to study international relations. She said she would like to work for the United Nations or a nongovernmental organization.

"I know I don't want to be in an office," she said. "I want to be out there working or volunteering."