How MCCC clubs are making a difference

Clubs and programs at MCCC are trying to make a global impact, and you can take part.

From the recent Japanese crisis to the ongoing issue of starvation and poverty, MCCC students and employees are creating easy ways for others to make a difference as well.

International Studies Club:

Money raised for hunger

The International Studies Club on campus recently took donations to combat hunger and poverty through the Heifer International organization.

Through Heifer International, donations can purchase and send livestock to struggling towns. To promote self-sufficiency and group progress, each family must agree to give one of the animal's offspring to another needy family.

"It's about getting a whole village off its feet," said Joanna Sabo, advisor of the International Studies club. "You don't just plop a cow there and you're done."

The club was able to send chicks last year through their fundraising. This year they will be able to send either two sheep or a water buffalo with the approximate $300 raised.

The Heifer International catalog includes 26 different options, ranging from $20 for a flock of chicks, geese, or ducks, to a $10,000 donation towards livestock development.

Sabo said that the club will continue to promote Heifer International every year. Donations can be made at any time and will be saved for the next year's purchase.

For more information on the International Studies club or to make a donation, contact Sabo at jsabo@monroeccc.edu, or by phone at (734) 384-4297. For more information on the organization, visit www.heifer.org.

Newman Club:

Survivor speaks of genocide

The Newman Club invited a survivor of the Darfur genocide and Sudan civil war to speak at the college April 14 in an attempt to raise awareness.

Abubakar, who goes by his first name only, told a group of nearly 100 people his firsthand experience of Sudan life – being arrested, interrogated, tortured, and nearly killed by his own government.

This same government has caused the deaths of an estimated 400,000 people and the displacement of another estimated 2.5 million people.

To read Abubakar's story, visit www.mcccagora.com/Sudan-survivor-speaks/.