ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Students throughout metro Atlanta are learning about the challenges some people face, and what they can do to make a difference.
At Amana Academy in Alpharetta, 6th grader Aazeen Abbas uses buckets and plastic tubes to create hope for the hungry.
“People in food deserts, people in droughts don’t have access to fresh food,” said Abbas. “I’m happy someone can benefit from something we made.”
She and other 6th graders at Amana Academy in Alpharetta are creating food towers. Using recycled water and artificial light, the towers grow fresh food three times faster than a typical garden.
The goal is to donate them to families in need.
Students at Amana take on issues like hunger and homelessness, then mix education with action.
8th graders built shelters that will be donated to help protect the homeless from the elements.
First, students must understand why homelessness exists.
“You never know,” said 8th grader Amira Feniza. “That little small problem might create the domino effect and that could lead them to homelessness.”
Amana Academy is one of several other schools in metro Atlanta that work with EL Education, a national non-profit that guides public schools on ways to address social issues.
“The idea is that you should be getting smart for a purpose,” said EL Education’s Ron Berger. “That purpose isn’t just for yourself. It’s to make your community and your family a better place.”
At Amana, the first step is to develop empathy.
“We want them to feel something when they think about that problem,” said Amana teacher Yerisson Cardenas.
The community is their classroom.
“You can see in Atlanta that there’s a lot of people living in high class homes and right next to those homes are people living on the streets,” said 7th grader Japheth Adoga.
Amana is one of the metro schools highlighted during EL Education’s Better World Day.