An open invitation to a trip through Africa

Westborough - It's not often that one finds Nelson Mandela, Antonio Monteiro, Maria Mutola, Sayyid Ismail Al-Azhari and Ramses III in the same room, sharing stories of their lives. These influential African people, along with many others, will do exactly that Thursday April 17 in the Mill Pond School cafeteria.

After weeks of hard work, the sixth-grade Fireflies team will present their final African products in a showcase format from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. during the team's first annual Africa United Day. For the event, students were required to choose an African country and research information about their country in all discipline areas.

The final presentations will include the following information about each country: a hand-drawn map, a current issues poster, a timeline of historical events, a biome exhibit, economic graphs comparing the United States with their African country, the nation's flag, samples of a common food, a cultural folktale written by each student, and a speech, written and recited by each student, about an influential person from the country.

The purpose of this African interdisciplinary project is to teach the Mill Pond and Westborough community about the countries and diversity throughout the continent of Africa. It is also to raise awareness about current issues that are occurring in many of these countries.

The teachers of the Fireflies team invite the Westborough community to attend Africa United Day to learn about the countries of Africa. All members of the community will have the opportunity to contribute to the "Faces of Kibera" Foundation, a nonprofit organization researched and chosen by the students. Proceeds will go directly to helping build new facilities for orphaned children in Kibera, Kenya.