Students for Social Responsibility dedicate themselves to easing the plight of AIDS orphans in South Africa.

BY DENISSE SALAZAR IRVINE WORLD NEWS
    About 50 students at Irvine High School have dedicated countless hours to organize a fundraising event that will benefit the AIDS orphans of Nkandla, South Africa.
    Students for Social Responsibility will host its eighth annual Benefit Concert on April 7, which includes more than 20 performances ranging from vocal to dance. The night opens with a sponsors’ dinner, a first for the event.
    This year, the students have selected The Africa Project as the beneficiary of the funds raised from the concert, which are expected to range from $6,000 to $8,000.
    The Africa Project is an Irvine-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of more than 1,000 children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS in the Nkandla region of South Africa, the heart of Zululand.
    Debra Bianchi, co-director for the organization, said she was inspired to take action in 2005 after watching the BBC documentary “The Orphans of Nkandla.”
    “We want to organize our community in a way that will take on the challenge of meeting the needs of the children affected by AIDS in Nkandla,” Bianchi said.
    Students for Social Responsibility has supported different organizations through its Benefit Concert, including Free The Children, The Whaleman Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, the American Anti-slavery Group, the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, the Medical Eye and Dental International Care Organization, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and, this year, The Africa Project.
    Students conduct extensive research for three months before choosing an organization.
    “This year was easier to choose an organization because the students were already inspired,” said Jim Antenore, the group’s adviser since its inception in 1983.
    In December, Youth Creating Change and The Africa Project hosted an AIDS assembly with more than 1,200 Irvine High students attending. Two guest speakers from Nkandla, Sister Hedwig Maphumulo and school principal Ngogi Mahaye, talked to students about the dire situation in the region.
    Nkandla has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in Africa with as many as one in four adults infected, Mahaye told the students. The legacy of apartheid, poverty, HIV/AIDS and unemployment have combined to take a devastating toll on families, leaving children and young people to bear the burden of caring for families, according to UNICEF.
    “This organization has become something we really care about and we hope to help the AIDS orphans,” said Avni Mehta, a member of Students for Social Responsibility’s leadership council. “Money is needed to build an orphanage, clothe and feed the kids, and send them to school so they can have a bright future.”
    The students decided to sponsor The Africa Project in January and have been working during their lunch time and after school to ensure the event is successful. Auditions were held last week and callback auditions were held on Monday to select the performers, which include high school, college and professional groups.
    “What (Students for Social Responsibility) is doing is huge,” said Bianchi. “I believe that youth are the answer to the world’s problem and they have to stand up and do something because they are the source of change for our society.”
    More than half of the 1,850 students at Irvine High are involved with community projects, Antenore said. In addition to sponsoring the Benefit Concert, Students for Social Responsibility has run a campus-wide recycling program since 1988. The proceeds have been used to plant dozens of trees on the high school campus and to help local organizations.
    “I’m impressed with the students for dedicating their time. Every time I think about hanging up my gloves, their involvement and enthusiasm re-energizes me,” Antenore said.
    While Students for Social Responsibility is one of the smallest clubs on campus, Hotaru Naya a sophomore in charge of publicity for the Benefit Concert said “members can make a difference and hopefully we’ll be able to change someone else’s life.”
    Becca Mason, a junior in charge of public relations, hopes the community will attend the concert, but said her goal is to raise awareness of the plight of the orphans.
    “I want people to be aware that in America we have a partial world view and because we are so isolated, not by oceans but by our mentality, we need to consider other people’s needs and cultures, ” Mason said.

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