Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Erin Janca introduced the club to Mary Kate Rosenfelder, an extremely ambitious and talented Batavia Interact student and senior at Batavia High. Erin explained that completing her first trip to Ghana, Mary Kate found that many of her classmates were upset that they missed out on the opportunity. Erin reluctantly agreed to consider a second trip if Mary Kate would organize the meetings and gather the parents. Thinking this young teen wouldn’t follow through, Erin was blown away when the first meeting drew 26 students and parents to Panera on a weekday evening. 

Mary Kate went on to say that her interest in helping others sparked at a young age, offering to volunteer for the family vacation. Now that she’s older, she volunteers with many local organizations, including Feed our Starving Children. As she talked about her trips to Ghana, Mary Kate recalled the little children that would ask her to sit down and listen to them read. They were so proud of their accomplishment and they wanted to show her how educated they were despite being so poor. She said the experience was so different, she thought she was going to Africa to help them and found they had actually helped her more. 

“When they heard I was going to Africa,” Mary Kate continued, “People here told me to be careful, that it was unsafe. Right away everyone there was so friendly. We felt very welcomed and safe.” 

It’s clear she must have felt welcomed. Mary Kate is heading back to Ghana this week with her mother to visit the people she thinks about daily, while missing her own graduation. 

At the end of the presentation, Mary Kate said: “It’s sad to see our culture, with how much we have and unhappy we are, compared to how little they have and how happy they are.” Thank you Mary Kate and Erin for your great service, and also for reminding us to appreciate how lucky we are.