April 10, 2018

“Lift Up! Namibia”: CU Fine Arts Students Organize a Service Project to Collect Supplies for Students in Namibia

“Lift Up! Namibia”: CU Fine Arts Students Organize a Service Project to Collect Supplies for Students in Namibia

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania’s Fine Art Honor Society (FAHS) students, along with their fellow Fine Arts, Design and Liberal Studies (FADLS) classmates, faculty advisors and staff members, have been working diligently over the course of the spring semester to organize a full-scale service project to collect educational goods and supplies for nonprofit organization, “Lift Up! Namibia.” “Lift Up! Namibia” works to raise awareness of the critical issues faced by the people of Namibia, a small county in South West Africa.

Founded in 2016 by Madame Caroline Andjaba, wife of His Excellency Martin Andjaba, Ambassador of Namibia to the United States, “Lift Up! Namibia” thrives by its mission to “mobilize support for education and help the people of Namibia respond to natural disasters,” and works with Namibians living in the United States to support educational opportunities for K-12 students in Namibia.

Upon learning of the organization and its mission, Marietta Dantonio-Madsen, Chair of the Fine Arts, Design and Liberal Studies Department at Cheyney, immediately wanted to find out how Cheyney students, her colleagues and FADLS faculty advisors, Helena Domenic (Associate Professor of Fine Art) and Joel Keener (Professor of Art) and other staff could become involved.

“I reached out to Madame Caroline and we later met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the educational needs of the students of Namibia, and outline how Cheyney could assist to further raise awareness and collect supplies,” says Madsen.

From there, Madsen began working with the FAHS and students from the spring semester Graphic Design Concept Development course, instructed by Domenic, to teach them how to negotiate and organize a service project, write sponsorship letters and structure a nonprofit donation lists.

Participation in the service project also gave the FADLS students the opportunity to exercise their diverse range of creative talents.

The students designed posters, graphics and other visuals to artistically show their support, pride and to inspire others to get involved. Another highlight – students were able to personally meet with Madame Caroline during her special visit to Cheyney.

“Through my participation I have learned that to achieve more, you must give more and service projects like “Lift Up! Namibia” give us the opportunity to do so,” shared student Rhonda Davis, who played an instrumental role in assisting the group to develop sponsorship letters and other written documents for the service campaign.

The group is now requesting that the Cheyney community rally together to lift up Namibia, and assist them to collect the following supplies: pencils, tape, permanent markers, erasers, backpacks, mathematical sets, sharpeners, scissors, rulers, composition books, pens, crayons, binders, puzzles, rulers and any new or used books. Donations can be dropped off in any of the designated donation boxes located in Marian Anderson, the Marcus Foster Snack Bar and Ada Georges. The complete supply donation list can be found here.

For more information on “Lift Up! Namibia” and to find out how you can get involved, visit liftupnamibia.com.

Top Photo [l to r]: Front: Veronica Becerra, Jamera Stanciel, Mrs. Caroline Andjaba, Charlene Hoffman, Jazmyn Robinson. Back: Rhonda Davis, Khalil Abdulahi, Jilanne Bentley, Shayahna Smith, Isaiah Stratton, Troy Scott.

Middle left photo (student artwork): Veronica Becerra. | Middle right photo (student artwork): Top: Shayanna Smith, Bottom left: Jelanne Bentley, Bottom right: Khalil Abdulahi.

Bottom left photo (student artwork): Isaiah Stratton.