Pomperaug Elementary School Students Display Their Mighty Hearts for African Orphans 

   After reading an article in a magazine about helping those less fortunate, the students in Mrs. Catherine Jerome's Grade 4 class at Pomperaug Elementary School in Southbury decided to make a difference in the lives of children at a continent thousands of miles away.

   The fourth-graders read an article in a student-centered magazine, Time for Kids, about a teenage American orphan who went back to her native Peru and was saddened by the impoverished state of the orphans. The girl decided to create a program called "A Mighty Heart" to collect money to help these underprivileged children.

   A student in Mrs. Jerome’s class, Will N., age 9, told his classmates of his grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Richard Stoughton who have been in Zimbabwe, Africa since 1991, working at a rural hospital and helping orphans. St. Theresa’s Hospital is the base for all health care in the region and also encompasses the care of orphans, most of whom live with grandparents, aunts and uncles, or teenage siblings. The students at Pomperaug Elementary School decided to do what they could to help these orphans who are very poor and suffering from malnutrition.

    Because of the dire economic situation in Zimbabwe, relatives cannot provide more than shelter and love for the orphaned children. The hospital, therefore, provides food, school supplies, clothing, and school fees for the youngsters.

   To support the efforts of the African hospital, the Pomperaug Elementary School students donated $456 of their own money and provided over thirty pounds of clothing and supplies for the hospital.

    Mrs. Kate Soltesz, Pomperaug Elementary School’s school counselor said, "One of my favorite quotes is by Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ Teaching compassion is part of our guidance curriculum and activities such as this one helps young children further develop compassion and empathy for those less fortunate.”

    Dr. Stoughton and his wife first went to Africa for 5 1/2 years in the early 1970s, with a Catholic organization called Lay Mission Helpers. After completing training in the United States and Rome, they were stationed at a hospital in the country of Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe.

    Mrs. Stoughton (at far right) assists with the care for orphans in the village while Dr. Stoughton has established pediatric health care programs and HIV/AIDS clinics. He also is involved in the administration of St. Theresa’s Hospital, obtaining necessary funding and medicines, building a nursing school at the hospital, and constructing a house for an additional doctor in the community.

   “Will is really proud of both his grandparents and, particularly, his classmates for being so generous in their donations,” said Will’s mother, Mary Nichols. “Will has always known what his grandparents did, but I don't think he realized how special and unusual it was until his teacher did this project with the class.”

    For more information on the Dr. Stoughton's work in Zimbabwe and how you can help, go to www.missiondoctors.org.