Local JSA chapter raises money for 8th grader in Africa

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - For Leslie, an eighth grader born and raised in Kenya, going to school seemed impossible.

For Leslie, everything changed when she caught the attention of Pangea Network, a charity organization which made it its mission to gather enough money to send her to school.

For Leslie, College Park High School’s Junior State Of America (JSA) collected over $1,095.

“The message and mission of Pangea really hit home with me because they are so aligned with what I believe and because my mom was born and brought up in Kenya,” rising senior Maya Patel said.

Patel, the former Director of Activism, raised the money at JSA’s state convention by recruiting Tyler Pugh, Director of Communications, who offered to shave half his beard if by the end of the night if the donations reached $600. By the time they stopped collecting money, they had collected over $1,000 in coins and one dollar bills.

“When we counted the money, I started jumping up and down. Tyler and I were so ecstatic that we exceeded our goal,” Patel said. “It was surreal to see hundreds of high school students so passionate about a single movement and to hear them chanting Leslie’s name and have a genuine interest in her future was so inspiring. It brought tears to my eyes to know that I was able to lead such a movement and have peers that cared so much.”

Leslie, who lost both her parents in a car accident, lives with her grandmother during winter breaks. Her favorite class is science, her favorite book is The Secret of the Red Gate by Nancy Drew, and her favorite food is Ugali and chicken. The $1500 collected by Pangea Network and JSA will cover her education for the upcoming year.

Pangea Network is not only helping Leslie with her dream of becoming a journalist. They have awarded 38 school scholarships, helped 715 Kenyan women graduate from their six month education program, and led their graduates to leadership positions in their community.