Net Miles Of Smiles

Teacher starts group for Jamaican children

Published: Friday | June 19, 2009

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Like most teachers, Shikira Chang keeps busy by grading papers and helping her students study for exams, according to a report by Micaela Hood on the Miami Herald website.

Summer is here now but Chang said she does not plan on kicking back and taking it easy.

Instead, the 29-year-old will dedicate her time to helping out children living in a country close to her heart.

A teacher at Miramar High School, Chang is the founder of Kira Cares, an organisation

 that helps underprivileged children living in Jamaica.

“Being in the (United) States you don’t see children walking barefooted in the streets begging people money. There are so many orphans living in Jamaica and they just don’t have the resources for advancement like in America,” Chang said.

Last year, Chang embarked on her first project at a children’s home based in Kingston.

“I went to the hospital with some volunteers and we brought them new sheets for their beds and painted murals on the walls so they would have something bright and cheerful to look at when they first woke up,” Chang said.

The foundation is planning its second endeavour: Through the eyes of the child.

“Each child will be given a digital camera to take photos and they’ll later be published (as) a book,” Chang added.

To help raise funds for the project, Kira Cares held its first fund-raiser on June 11 at the Newport Beachside Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. The event raised US$1,040 ($92,560) for the organisation.

Jamaican