A classroom at the Gaudet Learning Academy is penpals with students in South Africa, creating connections, understanding and bonds to #MiddletownRI from half a world away.
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CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
From left, Gaudet Learning Academy fifth grader Lillianna Febles shares about her South African penpal with classmates Leah Viveiros, Ny’Ala Ray and Isla Palumbo one morning recently in Deb Marcellino’s classroom
DISTANCE LEARNING
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (JUNE 17, 2024) – After just the first letter, Lillianna Febles and James King said it was tough not to feel thankful for all they had.
Exchanging letters with students in Addo, South Africa, the fifth graders in Deb Marcellino’s English Language Arts class said they’ve already gotten more out of the experience than they could have imagined.
Not only has the penpal partnership opened their eyes to the wider world, but it’s helped the 11-year-olds and their peers at the Gaudet Learning Academy be more reflective closer to home as well.
“When I saw my letter addressed to “Beautiful Lillianna,” I can’t tell you how good that made me feel,” Lillianna said, smiling. “When I heard that, I knew my penpal wasn’t just writing a letter, they were writing to be my friend.”
James agreed, saying he felt an immediate bond with his penpal, both in the similarities and differences of their lives.
“My penpal said he has to drive a car and I was like ‘Whoa,’” James said. “I’ve never driven a car before. A golf cart? Yes, but not a car.”
Gaudet Learning Academy fifth grader James King reads over his letter to a South African penpal
The entire experience came about thanks to the hard work of Universal Promise and the efforts of Martha T. Cummings, the founder and executive director of the Portsmouth-based nonprofit.
In 2008, Cummings visited South Africa for the first time and was amazed by what she encountered in the Xhosa schools of the Addo Township, which is in the East Cape of South Africa.
While the Xhosa people had a wonderful humor, grit, drive, culture and gratitude, she said there was stunning poverty, educational inequities as well as a lack of clean water, food, shelter and security as well.
A short time later, she created Universal Promise. Today, Universal Promise has served more than 10,000 students and helped provide 100 percent water access in four schools, promoted language and technology mastery along with other improvements. For more about the organization, visit https://www.universalpromise.org/ online.
Martha Cummings, founder & executive director of Universal Promise, speaks to students about their penpal project with their peers in South Africa
Marcellino connected with Universal Promise last year through a parent of one of her students — Anna Burnley — spoke about the impact the organization had on her life, sparking the penpal initiative for the first time.
Speaking to students, Cummings said the penpal project was making more of a positive impact in Addo than those at the Learning Academy could ever imagine.
“The idea of them being able to communicate with you who are 8,000 miles away helps them see that the world is much different than where they live,” Cummings said. “What you’re doing here is a huge service to them, but it’s also a big service to you too because they’re helping you see how people around the world live and what it’s like in other places.”
For Marcellino, the penpal program was summed up perfectly by one of her students who took part during the first year.
“When Ollie (McCarthy) wrote ‘That you can be friends with someone even if you can’t see them,’” Marcellino said. “That’s what this is all about.”
Fifth grader Hadley Damsa shows off the drawing of her family going to her penpal in South Africa while classmate Bella Trindade looks on
Visiting the class on break, the now Gaudet Middle School sixth grader Ollie and his peers Dottie Burnley and Marley Perry said they continue to write with their penpals to this day.
To date, they’ve exchanged four or five letters apiece and have really gotten to know one another.
“I like to talk about sports with my penpal,” Ollie said. “It’s a new experience and it makes you appreciate the different schools and different realities.”
“I realize more about how people are usually good and what we have isn’t what it’s all about,” Marley said. “It’s helped me sit back and realize when I’m upset about something, how I have it pretty good compared to other people in other places.”
Dottie met her penpal recently during a 10-day visit to Addo and came away from the experience a totally changed person.
“I saw the school she went to and where she lives,” Dottie said. “It made me appreciate how much we’ve helped through the fundraisers and things like that and how different other parts of the world are from Middletown.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Penpals
