World Humanitarian Day honors those who’ve been affected by humanitarian crises or died in humanitarian service. August 19 is meant to inspire activism and solidarity against conflict, disease and suffering.
To commemorate World Humanitarian Day, we’re highlighting our podcast about a North Carolina-based teacher who’s helping his students become effective leaders in global health and poverty. Matthew Cone’s Carrboro High School students have had face-time with former USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Mohammed Yunus and others. They’ve raised more than $150,000 for nonprofits, and some went on to work in rural Africa and the Peace Corps.
“I wanted to teach a course where students had access to people who were trying to make a difference in the world,” Cone says. “And I thought that if they got something that was different from a fairy tale version, they might actually become interested in being engaged citizens.”
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Click here for more on the podcast.
Photo: CHS students at Haitian Studies Conference in Haiti, 2014 (Courtesy of Matthew Cone).
