Caroline Elementary Students Take Active Role in Red Cross Measles Initiative

Students in Anita Bellucci's fourth-grade class know more about measles than most people, thanks to the Red Cross educational program piloted in Caroline in March. The five week program is designed to teach elementary-age students about the deadly disease that kills thousands in Africa yearly, while teaching other valuable lessons, including reading and writing, government and math, health and nutrition, as well as kindness, justice, and philanthropy.

The Measles Initiative is a long-term commitment to control measles deaths of children in Africa by vaccinating 200 million children and preventing 1.2 million deaths over the next five years. Measles and its complications kill approximately 450,000 children each year in Africa; deaths that can be prevented through vaccination. The Measles Initiative is a cooperative project between Red Cross societies in Africa, American Red Cross, Center for Disease Control, UNICEF, World Health Organization, and United Nations Foundation.

Students in Mrs. Bellucci's class developed materials, including a brochure, graphs, and ratios relating to lives saved and costs, while learning appropriate writing techniques and mathematic skills necessary for building these media.

Through this program, the students also learned how nutrition is related to measles and the immune system, how measles compares to HIV/AIDS and also about how it's transmited, prevented and treated.

In addition, curriculum was built educating the fourth-graders about the type of governments in African countries, the role of government and the role of local communities in the Measles Initiative, the role our government takes in immunization compared to African countries, and government priorities and costs.

They also gained awareness and understanding of economic and cultural differences as well as civic responsibility through their fundraising efforts. The students raised $425 for the initiative by creating and designing postcards asking for donations, and sending them to their families and friends.

This is one of the first projects in the United States related to the Measles Initiative to work with elementary school students, integrating multiform education with fundraising. The Tompkins County Chapter of the Red Cross is hopeful other Ithaca City schools will participate in the Measles Initiative and this educational program.